Football…football…football….football…football…football…football…football…football.

Football makes its triumphant on-field return on Thursday when the NFL begins its preseason slate.

Due to the lockout, this preseason will likely carry greater significance since the season appears to have fallen out of the sky with a cluster of player movement.

Let’s take a look at 10 random things I’ll be watching on Thursday.

1. Juan Castillo – Lost in all of the hub-bub over the “dream team” acquisitions is Castillo’s lack of experience as a defensive coordinator. Thursday’s preseason opener versus Baltimore will feature Castillo calling his first game as a defensive coordinator. After serving as the offensive line coach since 1998, Castillo tackles the defensive side of the ball in the NFL for the first time. His last foray as a defensive coordinator? You have to go back to 1989 when he was the defensive coordinator at Kingsville High School in Texas. Now, he’ll likely have to craft defensive game plans to beat Aaron Rodgers and/or Drew Brees if the Eagles want to reach the Super Bowl. Good luck Juan.

2. Tim Tebow/Kyle Orton: I don’t get it. Kyle Orton is CLEARLY a better quarterback than Tim Tebow. In fact, I’m not totally convinced Tebow is better than Brady Quinn. We’ve seen this story before though. Experienced quarterback A is better than his younger counterpart but public pressure and lack of success leads to the veteran’s demise. Based off of how he played last season, Orton deserves better than that. For whatever reason, people seem ready to railroad Tebow into the starter’s role. In the immortal words of Ricky Watters, “for who, for what?” Tebow will be under the microscope when Denver visits Dallas on Thursday night in Jerryworld.

3. The Arizona Cardinals: After landing a 7-9 division champion into the playoffs, the NFC West returns to muddy our lives with painfully mediocre football. The Cardinals open up with the Oakland Raiders as the Kevin Kolb era in Arizona begins. From all accounts thus far, the Cardinals are pleased with what they have seen.

4. Blaine Gabbert: I don’t expect the Jacksonville Jaguars to compete for a playoff spot in 2011. That especially holds true if Gabbert is at the controls. Rookie quarterbacks have to digest NFL defenses at a faster rate than usual because of the lockout. I don’t expect the outcome to be pretty for many of the first-year signal callers including Gabbert, who will get the start in New England.

5. T-Jack: I’m not sure why Seattle thinks Tarvaris Jackson is a suitable replacement for Matt Hasselbeck. I think I’d rather sign up for 16 games of the Chuck Whitehurst experience.

6. Injuries: So far, the soup of the day injury appears to be the torn achillies of doom. Philly’s Victor Abiamiri, Cleveland’s Reggie Hodges and Detroit’s Mikel Leshoure are examples of players who have suffered the calamitous injury. Expect more danger on the horizon with players out of their normal offseason routine.

7. New England’s defensive ends: New England centered much of their free agency attention on the defensive front with Albert Haynesworth and ex-Jet Shaun Ellis. The only way New England wins another ring is if they can get to the quarterback. No rush, no ring.

8. Coaching philosophies: It’ll be intriguing to see what tact teams take with playing starters during preseason games. Everyone is behind at the moment and playing the usual “let’s run our starters out for two series and wash our hands of this game” mentality may have to take a vacation until next year.

9. Joe Flacco: While new Ravens running back Ricky Williams is sold on Flacco’s viability as a leader, I am not. The NFL is not a world for game managers at the moment (and yes, you’re still included in this conversation Mark Sanchez). I want Flacco to do something that excites me. Anything. At least, he takes cool wedding photos at the bare minimum.

10. Dez Bryant: For all his worldly talents, Bryant’s offseason has been a bit troublesome. A Dallas mall thought his jeans sagged too low. Meanwhile, former Cowboys like Deion Sanders say he needs help. It would be nice to see him just play some football.