The first one came in the Packers Monday Night Football triumph over the Minnesota Vikings, when Barnett horse-collared a Vikings player.  That total came to $7,500.  Then, against the Detroit Lions last Sunday, Barnett was fined for a shoulder-to-helmet hit on Lions quarterback Jon Kitna.  That fine came to $7,500 as well.  Barnett had this to say:

“Why would I be fined?” Barnett answered when asked about the possible fine on Wednesday. “He was out of the pocket. He was a running back. How are you supposed to tackle the guy?”

I have to partly agree with Barnett here.  Since when have “shoulder-to-helmet” hits been subject to penalty?  That definitely has to be incidental contact.  When you tackle, aren’t you supposed to lead with your shoulders?  Exactly.  That was probably an unavoidable hit on Kitna.

On the other hand, Barnett needs to watch himself.  Roger Goodell and the NFL haven’t reverted to an NBA-esque-dictatorship with players and coaches being fined for opening their mouths in criticism.  I’m not sure that Goodell won’t change that soon.

The important part is that Barnett will definitely be on the field Sunday night.

To quote Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friend.”

I watched the highlights to the game and was absolutely horrified. In the fourth quarter, while sitting on a 24-9 lead, the Packers unraveled. First, Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson turned a quick slant route into a 38-yard touchdown, Packers punter Derrick Frost mishandled a punt, leading to a Lions safety.

It’s 24-18. Like BOOM.

Then deja vu struck again when Johnson turned a nearly identical pass from Jon Kitna into a touchdown, this time from 47-yards out.

25-24, Lions.

If I was watching this game, I would have been flipping out. But I was totally oblivious to this happening. So no harm, no foul. Keeps my stress levels down.

Then the Packers start working their magic. The retook the lead on the ensuing drive on a Mason Crosby field goal, 27-25. Then the fun began.

On the next Lions drive, Charles Woodson intercepted Kitna, setting up Brandon Jackson‘s best rush of the season, a 19-yarder for the score and a 34-25 lead. Woodson showed some skills AGAIN on the next drive, intercepting Kitna and taking the ball to the barn. 41-25, Packers. Kitna’s last six minutes at the office got even worse as on the next drive he was intercepted YET AGAIN, this time by Nick Collins, who followed to trend set by Woodson and took it to the house. 48-25, Packers.

Game, set, match.

The fact the Lions were able to get back into this one really scares me. Woodson and Al Harris need to be on top of their game with Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, and the rest of the Dallas Cowboys coming into town next Sunday.

In other news, Aaron Rodgers continued his development as a starting quarterback, absolutely owning up on the Lions defense (statistically, at least). Rodgers completed 24 of 38 passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns, giving him his first 300-yard passing game and first three-touchdown game. The guy looks good. His first touchdown pass to James Jones was a great scramble, while his third touchdown pass to rookie Jordy Nelson was absolutely beautiful. Greg Jennings lead the receiving department with 167 yards on six catches, including two catches of more than 50 yards. Donald Driver had seven catches and one touchdown. In the rushing department, Jackson actually led the team, a 180-degree turn from Week 1, with 61 yards on seven carries including the touchdown. Ryan Grant was bottled up, partly by a hamstring injury, gaining only 20 yards on 15 carries. He will need to be at full strength for the Dallas game. On defense, A.J. Hawk is not showing any ill-effects of his chest injury, recording seven tackles and two sacks. The defense did a good job shutting down Kevin Smith‘s running game, but they were absolutely torched by Johnson, who had six receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns. The disgruntled Roy Williams was held to three catches for 48 yards.

Dallas is next. This will be a tough one.

If this game had taken place in 2007, there would be much more meaning behind this game, as the Falcons traded some quarterback to the Packers back in 1992 who did a bunch of things while playing 16 years for the Packers. But alas, that quarterback is gone from Green Bay, thus taking much of the mileage that commentators were going to get out of this game. Instead they are going to talk about Atlanta reversing some curse of trading the aforementioned quarterback. Nothing in the NFL is a cakewalk and nothing in the NFL should ever be treated as one, but this game appears to be the easiest game on the Packers schedule to date. The Falcons were a disaster last year. First, Michael Vick. Second, Bobby Petrino. Third, the fact that they just sucked. But things are starting to look up for the team as they have a new face of the franchise in third overall pick Matt Ryan out of Boston College, who has been named the starter for the season. With a rookie quarterback at the helm, the Falcons look to be in for a long season. The key matchups:

Packers defense vs. Ryan: The Packers will have already faced a plethora of decent quarterbacks in the first four games of the season in Tarvaris Jackson, Jon Kitna, Tony Romo, and whoever the Tampa Buccaneers are throwing out there. Having a rookie in his fifth start back there will most definitely be appealing to the defense. Aaron Kampman and Cullen Jenkins will look to give Ryan hell all game long and knock him around, forcing him to make quick decisions. The quick decisions will lead to big play chances for Charles Woodson, Al Harris, Atari Bigby, and the secondary. Ryan does not even have sufficient safety blanket options. Ryan’s main targets are Roddy White, Michael Jenkins, and rookie Harry Douglas. The starting tight end listed on NFL.com is Ben Hartsock. Yeah. Free agent acquisition Michael Turner is probably Ryan’s best option in the offense. In the whole offense.

Packers D-line vs. Turner: As I said before, the Falcons really do not a sufficient supporting cast around Ryan, except for Turner. The Falcons will be counting on Turner to be a horse until Ryan gets his feet under him. Blocking for Turner is fullback Ovie Mughelli, a very talented blocker that is expected to team with Turner to form a very good backfield.  Because of this, the pressure is on for Johnny Jolly, Ryan Pickett,  and Colin Cole to stop the run up the gut while getting support from Jenkins and Kampman on the outside.  The Falcons offensive line is below average, helping out the Packers a little bit and making Ryan and Turner’s lives miserable.

Mark Tauscher & Chad Clifton vs. Jamaal Anderson & John Abraham: The Packers stout bookend tackles face a tall task in this game against the quick Anderson and the skilled Abraham.  Clifton and Tauscher’s performance this season will affect the drafts of the future by Ted Thompson and of course it affects first-year starter Aaron Rodgers.  Rodgers is going to need time to pick apart a weak Atlanta secondary, and the tackles must give him time.  The Packers O-line is a big question mark this year, but if Tauscher and Clifton show up to play, it won’t be that hard for Rodgers to develop.

The Verdict: The Packers win, 35-17.

The Packers are 4-1 through five games.

For this Week 2 matchup, the Packers, fresh off of an emotionally draining 24-21 win over the Minnesota Vikings, travel southeast to the grand city of Detroit to take on the Lions. In recent years, the Packers have somewhat dominated the Lions, but they have had some close games as well. This should be a close game, as the Lions are young and developing (except for the quarterback position) and are hungry. Jon Kitna does think the team can win 10 games.

Matchups To Watch

Packers defensive backs vs. Lions wide receivers: Offensive coordinator Mike Martz is gone, but that does not mean the Lions don’t have the potential to become the next greatest show on turf. Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson, Mike Furrey, and Shaun McDonald can put up big numbers with Kitna at the helm. Al Harris and Charles Woodson will have their hands full in this game, as will whoever wins the battle for the third-corner spot, most likely Tramon Williams. This game could be an early test to show if whoever won the job really deserves it. Atari Bigby and Nick Collins/Aaron Rouse will also have to show their cover jones.

Packers defensive line vs. Lions offensive line/running backs: A week after having their hands full against a fantastic offensive line and running game, the Packers get to see how they will do against a mediocre offensive line and running game. They could have the opportunity to feast on rookie Kevin Smith and product of the Denver Broncos system Tatum Bell and this could be a confidence booster, depending on how Week 1 against Minny goes.

Lions defensive backs vs. Packers wide receivers: The Lions have long been looking to revamp their secondary and now have three starting-caliber cornerbacks on their roster in Brian Kelly, Travis Fisher, and Leigh Bodden, acquired in the offseason from the Cleveland Browns as part of the Shaun Rogers trade. This gives the Lions three good corners to line up across from the Packers three good wide receivers, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, and James Jones. The Packers wideouts can destroy on a good day, as evidenced by Driver’s Thanksgiving Day performance in 2007. The Lions have obviously worked hard in the offseason to try to combat this.

The Verdict: I’m taking the Packers again, 28-14. The Lions should keep it close at the beginning, but in the end, they are not quite up to the level of the Packers. Another 7-9 season for you, Kitna.

Packers record after Week 2: 2-0.