(AP) GREEN BAY As a kid growing up outside Detroit, Dave Rayner loved watching Barry Sanders run and Jason Hanson kick on Sundays.

But, truth be told, he wasn't the world's biggest Lions fan.

"Obviously, playing now, you can't talk bad about the other team," said Rayner, who will be kicking for the Green Bay Packers in Sunday's game at Ford Field. "But growing up, they just weren't good."

Rayner, who grew up in Oxford, Mich., and played college football at Michigan State, will have plenty of supporters in the seats.

"I just bought 30 tickets for the Detroit game, so there's going to be every family member I can think of in Detroit," he said.

Rayner would love to tell people that playing in front of friends and family is no big deal, but it is.

"It probably will be a little bit. I'm going to be thinking about that," Rayner said. "But I'm excited. I've been a big fan of Jason Hanson my whole life, and it's really exciting to play against him and be in my hometown."

And, of course, there's this for the 0-2 Packers: "We need to get a win, too," Rayner said.

After beating out veteran Billy Cundiff early in training camp, then fending off a late challenge from free agent E.J. Cochrane in the final week of the preseason, Rayner is now tasked with replacing longtime Packers kicker Ryan Longwell, who signed with division rival Minnesota in the offseason.

Rayner knows Longwell -- who threw a touchdown pass for his new team last Sunday -- was liked and respected in Green Bay.

"I tell people that I'm not really trying to fill his shoes," Rayner said. "He had his great career here, and that was Ryan Longwell's career here and now he's going to probably have another good career in Minnesota. But I'm going to kind of just do my own thing and make a name for myself here."

Rayner, who was a kickoff specialist for the Indianapolis Colts last year, said the late competition from Cochrane -- and the widespread speculation that the Packers might sign a veteran kicker at the last minute before the season -- served as motivation.

"A little bit, yeah," Rayner said. "You obviously want people to respect you and think you're good enough to be here. Yeah, I think it added a little fuel to the fire."

Packers special teams coordinator Mike Stock said that if Rayner was thrown off by the competition, he never showed it.

"I don't think anything bothers him too much -- I mean, that he lets anybody know, which I think is important," Stock said. "He's got a good head on his shoulders. He knows what's at stake here and he wants to be in the NFL."

Rayner got off to a shaky start after winning the job, missing a 53-yard field goal in the season-opening loss to Chicago. Afterward, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said, "He's our kicker and we believe in him. But he needs to make that kick."

He "needs to make" a 53-yarder?

Yikes, tough room.

But Rayner brings such expectations on himself because he has what special teams types call a "big leg," allowing him to attempt long-range field goals.

"People say, 'Well, gee, he's got to make the 52-yarder.' Yeah, he's got to make the 52," Stock said. "But he's got to make the 26, he's got to make the 36, the 46. He's got to make all of them if he can."

Coaches thought Rayner rushed through his field goal attempt against Chicago and tried to get him to slow down.

Rayner returned last week to go 2-for-2 against New Orleans, hitting from 24 and 36 yards. He also boomed his kickoffs.

"I think it's like any other position," Rayner said. "You get that good game under your belt, you get that confidence up, the team has confidence in you now -- being a new guy, and obviously they had a guy here for a long time that was good. So I just want them to be confident in me, and obviously I have confidence in myself."

The Packers lost the game, but McCarthy said Rayner's play was a bright spot.

"I thought he kicked with a lot of confidence," McCarthy said. "He slowed down. I think the kick he had against Chicago, he just rushed it. Dave, it's evident he has plenty of leg strength. A 52, 53-yard field goal with the wind is something he's fully capable of doing."

Ah, the wind. Rayner still hasn't figured out the tricky currents in Lambeau Field and doesn't expect to any time soon.

"I don't even look at the wind any more," Rayner said. "We're on the side, and we're like, 'This flag's going this way and that flag's going this way, but on the field it feels like it's going this way.' So we're going to kick it and hope it goes straight."

Rayner is looking forward to kicking in a dome on Sunday, but Stock has warned him that he shouldn't lose focus on the fundamentals of kicking just because he's indoors.

"I told him, don't take for granted that going in the dome is going to make it any easier," Stock said. "There's no wind in there. But as soon as a guy think he's got it made going into the dome, that's when things go awry."

As excited as Rayner is to kick in front of his family on Sunday, he seems just as fired up about his alma mater's game against Notre Dame on Saturday night.

Rayner would like to attend the game in person, but doing so would be against Packers team rules that require players to be in the team hotel the night before a game.

"I'm a little distraught I can't go, but we've got to be in the hotel," Rayner said. "But I will definitely be watching on TV."

Chris Jenkins

(© 2006 The Associated Press.)