Dominic Raiola is beginning his 10th season as the Lions' center. But as far as he's concerned, he was born yesterday.

"I don't think it's fair to talk about what's happened here in the past because, look around this room -- this roster isn't even close to being the same," he said. "You are talking about an entirely different team. I don't want any of these guys in here to associate themselves with the Lions teams of the past. If you are talking about the 2008 Lions, I don't associate Jahvid Best or Matthew Stafford with that team. It's totally different now."

Like it or not, the 2010 Lions will carry some of the baggage from the past, like the 20-game road losing streak it will take into Soldier Field Sunday.

"There are some guys that have had a long drought and there are some guys in here that are used to winning on the road that are walking into this situation for the first time," coach Jim Schwartz said. "It's like last year after we lost the first two games and I was asked how it felt to lose 19 in a row. I was like, 'Jeez, can't you let us be 0-2?' We didn't lose 19 in a row. You can't hold these guys accountable for what's happened in the past."

Clearly, the offense is different than most of the teams that contributed to the 20 straight road losses. Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and his system, and his position coaches, and his quarterback, and his offensive line, are starting their second year in Detroit. It's the first time in Raiola's tenure all those things have been in place for two years in a row.

In addition, there's some weaponry. That too is different. Besides quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Calvin Johnson, the Lions have a diversely-skilled running back with game-breaking speed in rookie Jahvid Best, a proven complementary receiver in Nate Burleson and two versatile tight ends in Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler.

Teams are going to have to game plan for more than just Johnson or the Lions' passing game now.

But -- and with the Lions there's always a but -- the defense looks every bit as accommodating as it has the last couple of years.

That's with a revamped defensive line. With the additions of defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, defensive tackle Corey Williams and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, the second overall pick in the draft, joining holdover defensive end Cliff Avril, the Lions have a formidable front four.

But there are mostly concerns behind it. Their two best players in the back seven, middle linebacker DeAndre Levy and safety Louis Delmas missed most of the preseason with groin injuries and they both missed practice on Wednesday.

With those two, the back seven is iffy, without them there is little hope.

Julian Peterson, at 32, is the only established starting linebacker. Zach Follett, who was fighting his way off the practice squad at this time last season, will start at the other outside spot -- at least for now.

If Levy can't play, veteran Landon Johnson would probably start, though Johnson has been pushing for Follett's spot on the outside all through camp.

In the secondary, the Lions are counting on some reclamation projects to come through. Chris Houston and Jonathan Wade are the starting cornerbacks, both flamed out with their previous teams. Pushing them will be former second-round pick Alphonso Smith, who was about to be released by Denver before the Lions came offering a fourth-string tight end (Dan Gronkowski).

If Delmas can't play, or can't play at his usual level, then the Lions could be going with undrafted rookie Randy Phillips or third-round draft pick Amari Spievey, who was converted from cornerback late in camp, to start alongside veteran C.C. Brown.

The Bears' offensive coordinator Mike Martz, broomed out of Detroit with Steve Mariucci, has to be licking his chops.

SERIES HISTORY
161st regular-season meeting. Bears lead, 91-64-5. The Lions have lost the last four meetings and the last three at Soldier Field. The Lions have beaten the Bears three times since 2001.

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