Last year Jarrad Davis Jersey , the Detroit Lions successfully neutralized Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in Week 6. Though his final statline reads 442 yard and three touchdowns, Rodgers only completed 63 percent of his passes, was sacked four times, lost two fumbles and was held scoreless in the first half of the game, as Detroit built a 24-0 lead.But Lions head coach Matt Patricia isn’t using that successful gameplan as a source of confidence this week as the Lions prepare for their first division matchup with the Packers on “Monday Night Football.” “It probably makes me more nervous if anything, to be honest with you Teez Tabor Jersey ,” Patricia said during his Tuesday teleconference. “Just knowing what a competitor he is. So, from my standpoint, it’s all about preparing to get ready this year and the things they are doing this year.”One of the things the Packers are doing this year is implementing a new offense. With new head coach Matt LaFleur at the helm, the Packers have focused a little more on the running game. They’re averaging 25.4 rushing attempts per game (17th) as compared to just 20.8 last year (32nd). LaFleur is using a lot of the same pre-snap motions and run schemes that have helped Kyle Shanahan—one of his former co-workers—build a lethal rushing attack in San Francisco. While the Packers running game is off to a bit of a slower start than that—they’re averaging just 3.7 yards per carry this year—they’ve shown some steady improvement week-to-week, and Aaron Jones is coming off a big game in Dallas. Jones rushed for 107 yards on just 19 carries and found the end zone four times.“A guy like Aaron Jones just has great, explosive power and burst and balance Kenny Golladay Jersey ,” Patricia said.Still, Patricia knows a guy like Rodgers is one of the biggest headaches for defensive coaches. “When you’re staring across the line of scrimmage at Aaron Rodgers, you know you’ve got a long day of work in front of you.” Lions fans rank 5th-lowest in team confidence." SB Nation FanPulseDetroit Lions NewsDetroit Lions PollsDetroit Lions fans confidence plummets after ugly preseason openerNew,34commentsLions fans rank 5th-lowest in team confidence. EDTThe offseason is supposed to be the time for optimism and hope. All 32 teams have the same 0-0 record, and every roster looks better than it did last year, because the team is healthy Jalen Reeves-Maybin Jersey , nailed its draft, and got a bunch of under-the-radar free agent signings.But how long fans hold onto that optimism is a product of the team’s performance throughout training camp and the preseason. And for the Detroit Lions, they massively failed their first benchmark test, dropping the preseason opener 31-3 to the New England Patriots. The score isn’t the concern. The competitiveness of the entire team is. Though nearly all of the Lions’ starters were benched for Thursday night’s game, the backups didn’t perform at a level that inspired any confidence in the team’s depth.As a result, fans are feeling wary. In our weekly FanPulse poll Barry Sanders Jersey , only 59 percent of fans believed the team was heading in the right direction, down 16 percent from our post-draft poll:Compare that to the rest of the league, and Lions fans are entering Week 2 of the preseason with the fifth-lowest confidence in the country. Only the Bengals (47%), Texans (43%), Jaguars (36%) and Washington (35%) have fanbases with lower confidence.Given that the Lions will face off against the Texans this week, it should be a great opportunity for the team to bounce back and earn a little more faith from their fans. Of course Michael Roberts Jersey , if Detroit struggles again, it will be hard not to think about last year’s slow start in the preseason and how it bled over into the regular season. If you want to be part of our FanPulse survey group, you can sign up right here! You can also track the FanPulse results from all 32 teams here.