Matt Patricia got an early taste of what Jimmy Garoppolo was capable of doing as an NFL quarterback.As soon as Garoppolo was drafted in the second round by New England in 2014 http://www.lionslockerroom.com/authentic-teez-tabor-jersey , he got the chance to match wits with Patricia almost every day in practice as Tom Brady's backup, while Patricia served as defensive coordinator for the Patriots.The talents Garoppolo showed on the practice field only got better whenever he got a chance to play in a game, whether it was an exhibition, mop-up duty or in two starts during Brady's suspension in 2016.So when Garoppolo became a star after being dealt to San Francisco, Patricia wasn't surprised at all. He will get a firsthand look at it Sunday as coach of the Detroit Lions (0-1), who visit Garoppolo and San Francisco (0-1)."There was always something a little bit special about Jimmy in-game," Patricia said. "Just that extra light just came on and in the game itself you could just see really how special he was as a player."After winning his two starts with the Patriots, Garoppolo went 5-0 for San Francisco after a midseason trade last year and earned a $137.5 million, five-year contract.His first game with the new deal didn't go so well as he completed less than half his passes and threw three interceptions in a 24-16 loss at Minnesota. He expects a tough task this week, knowing that Patricia likes to change up his schemes, although Garoppolo hopes all that time on the practice field against his defenses pays dividends."There's a couple of little things you remember from over the years and stuff," he said. "But Womens Taylor Decker Jersey , Matty P's a smart coach and I'm sure they'll have something game planned for us."Here are some other things to watch:REMATCHThe last time San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan had an offense take on Patricia's defense came in the Super Bowl in 2017. Shanahan's Atlanta Falcons took a 28-3 lead before falling apart late and losing 34-28 to the Patriots in OT. With little film of the Lions to go on after just one game with Patricia as coach, Shanahan has looked back at that game for some clues."When you have limited tape you have to go back to whoever the coordinator was, where he was the coordinator last, so you can understand all the scheme stuff," he said. "And that's what you see. It's very similar to what they've done in New England and they present a lot of challenges that are very tough to deal with."BOUNCE BACKPatricia's tenure in Detroit got off to a rocky start. The Lions' 48-17 loss to the Jets was their fourth-most lopsided opening game loss in franchise history and worst since falling 45-0 to Washington in 1991. The game got out of hand during New York's 31-point third quarter, the most points any team has scored in the third since the Rams had 41 against Detroit on Oct. 29, 1950."You can't let one week lead into another week," Patricia said. "You have to learn, and unfortunately, on a very short week, we have to learn quickly."RED-ZONE WOESThe 49ers were held to one TD on four red zone trips in the opener, continuing a trend from last season with Garoppolo at QB when they scored TDs on 12 of 28 red zone trips. Some of the problems in the opener were self-inflicted Taylor Decker Jersey White , like when Alfred Morris lost a fumble at the 1 in the first half. And Garoppolo threw high to an open George Kittle later in the game. There was also a third-down pass to Pierre Garcon that was broken up in the end zone, leading to another field goal."It gets tougher down there, and when you have an opportunity and you miss it you will not have a good day in the red zone," Shanahan said. "Not going to reinvent the wheel, but we're going to try and get better at that stuff."GROUNDEDThe Lions had plenty of problems in the opener but one of the biggest might have been a lack of a running game. Detroit finished with a league-low 39 yards rushing on 15 carries. Offseason acquisition LeGarrette Blount lost 3 yards on four carries and rookie Kerryon Johnson had five carries for 17 yards.RELIABLE ROOKIESThe 49ers got strong production from their rookie class in the opener. First-round pick Mike McGlinchey had a solid performance starting at right tackle and then moving to guard after injuries to Mike Person and Joshua Garnett. Second-round pick Dante Pettis stepped in at receiver after Marquise Goodwin got hurt and caught two passes for 61 yards and the team's only TD. Third-round LB Fred Warner led all rookies with 11 solo tackles and added a forced fumble and pass defensed.AP Sports Writer Larry Lage contributed to this report Matt Patricia has appeared to push the Detroit Lions more than they ever were under Jim Caldwell.The Lions seemed to run more and hit more. And, they may have gotten yelled at more.On the practice field over the last several weeks, it wasn’t hard to see or hear Patricia.The burly man with a bushy beard and a pencil over his right ear moves around a lot, spending time with various position groups during drills to share his expertise on both sides of the ball. He shouts to get his point across at times, including once when he didn’t like the pace in which players were moving from one field to another.How does Patricia avoid overloading his players?“Probably in the end you really don’t know until after the game, unfortunately,” Patricia said recently. “But you try to do a good job of gauging your players and how they’re handling the week. And obviously there’s a constant communication with the players to say, ‘Are we good on this? Do you think we need more? Do we need to cut back? Do we need to scale back from that standpoint?’“I would say it’s always the biggest challenge early in the season because you’re kind of just really getting into that mode for the first time.”And for the first time Quandre Diggs Jersey White , Patricia will be an NFL head coach in a game that counts Monday night in Detroit against the New York Jets .The 43-year-old Patricia declined to share his emotions entering a big day in his life, keeping people guessing, much like his mentor has done for years. He was on Bill Belichick’s staff for 14 seasons, serving as his defensive coordinator the last six years.Many years earlier, Patricia began his path to leading a team in the league by matching wits with buddies while playing electric football. Patricia, who is from Sherrill, New York, would set up miniature players on a vibrating, metal field to face off with friends in games that would continue for weeks.“I knew at a very young age the strategic part of the game was something that I just loved,” Patricia said when he was hired in February.When the Lions hired general manager Bob Quinn two-plus years ago, the former Patriots executive chose to keep Caldwell in 2016 and gave him a contract extension the next year. Quinn had his eye on Patricia over the last two years and cleared a path for them to reunite by firing Caldwell after last season’s 9-7 mark wasn’t good enough to put the team in the playoffs.Even if Detroit got into the postseason and lost, Caldwell might’ve been replaced by Patricia.Soon after New England lost in the Super Bowl http://www.lionslockerroom.com/authentic-quandre-diggs-jersey , the Lions landed the coach they wanted by hiring Patricia, who earlier had other suitors.Detroit’s players liked playing for Caldwell. His cool and calm ways were respected and they appreciated that he cared about them off the field. They found out quickly Patricia was bringing a change of pace: a demonstrative and louder leader.“The way he came in just set the tone right away,” Lions linebacker Jarrad Davis said. “He came in, he laid down the law. He gave us the rules and he came in with energy.”No one in the NFL is really sure what a Patricia-led team will look like because what he showed in the preseason is not expected to be anything like what he’ll do in Week 1 against the Jets. Especially with New York starting a rookie quarterback, Sam Darnold.Jets coach Todd Bowles, though, knows what Patricia’s defenses looked like with the Patriots.“They’re always very smart,” Bowles said. “They’re always very tough-minded, and the execution and fundamentals are outstanding. He’s brought that to New England, I’m sure he’s brought that to Detroit. They’ve always been tough. He’s handled us quite a few times, so we have our work cut out for us.”___