GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Linebacker Nick Barnett nearly was suspended one game by the NFL for his involvement in an off-the-field altercation last year. But after appealing the punishment, Barnett will be fined a week's pay but is allowed to play in the Green Bay Packers' Sept. 8 season opener.
Barnett has talked himself into the idea that playing for free is better than not playing at all.
"I believe so," Barnett said. "I was talking to myself yesterday and thinking about the steep fine and how much it was, but the league has to do what it has to do in order to keep the NFL in the right direction. It sounds steep, and me personally, I don't have anything on my record anymore, but it's the personal conduct (policy) and you have to abide by it."
Barnett was arrested last June outside an Appleton, Wis. bar after a woman accused him of pushing her during an argument. He was charged with two misdemeanors, but reached a plea bargain in March that required him to remain on good behavior and pay a fine.
Barnett said he was surprised by the league's original decision to suspend him, given the fact that players suspended by the league were involved in more serious crimes.
"Most of the actions were fights, broken jaws, stuff like that," Barnett said. "Mine was kind of just disorderly conduct. Which it was. I guess that falls under the personal conduct. That fight's over. There's no winning that battle. I go with the rules they set. Now I get to play Monday night. Pockets are a little lighter, but I still get to play."
Barnett's appeal wasn't heard directly by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, but Barnett did speak briefly with Goodell beforehand. Naturally, they talked about Brett Favre, with the three-time MVP's standoff with the Packers still simmering at the time.
But Barnett isn't looking to visit the league offices again anytime soon.
"It was definitely an experience that I don't want to experience again," Barnett said. "I'd rather go on a more positive note. I'll tell you that."
Barnett offered advice to teammate Johnny Jolly, who could face a league suspension after being charged with felony drug possession for allegedly being caught with at least 200 grams of codeine in July.
Barnett's message: Talk to the league before agreeing to a plea bargain.
"I would've fought in court that whole situation," Barnett said. "I was just trying to get away from it and move on and play football. It still ended with the same result, I didn't get any charges or anything like that. But if I would have fought it, and it came back not guilty, I'm sure it would've been a different disciplinary action (from the NFL)."
Chop Block: The new face of the Green Bay Packers is decidedly hairy these days.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sporting unique facial hair Wednesday, featuring mutton chops that flowed into a mustache.
Noting that he was a history major at California-Berkley, Rodgers called the arrangement "a tribute to the Civil War generals from the mid-to-late 19th century."
But it was apparently inspired by a Russian czar. The monotony of training camp probably played a significant role, too.
"I was watching ping-pong on MSNBC in the Olympics, and they showed this ad for this TV show which was going to be about Abe Lincoln and Czar Nicholas, who was the last czar of Russia," Rodgers said. "So anyway, Czar Nicholas had this look. So I was laying in bed, I go, 'That's a sweet look.' So I got up, about 10:30 at night, I shaved my chin and said, 'Hey, if the czar can do it, I can do it."'
But not without the proper research. Rodgers and one of the team's trainers looked up his new look on a Web site, beards.org, and discovered that it had a name: The "friendly mutton chops."
Seriously?
"You know what? In training camp, you've got to go anything you can to make yourself laugh," Rodgers said. "When I came in yesterday, some of the guys were excited about it, so we looked it up."
This isn't the first time Rodgers has had fun with facial hair in the preseason. In 2006, Rodgers grew a mustache and called it "a tribute to all the great people in history that had mustaches. Guys like Tom Selleck and Chuck Norris and Jesus and Ron Burgundy."
Notes: With Scott Wells still nursing an injury, Jason Spitz again played center for the Packers' No. 1 offense Wednesday. Daryn Colledge again played left guard and Josh Sitton played right guard. Veteran tackle Mark Tauscher said he had "no clue" as to whether that would be the team's starting lineup in Friday's preseason game at Denver, but the line was holding up well despite constant shuffling of positions throughout training camp. "We're getting things going," Tauscher said. "It's just a work in progress and we're going to continue to try and improve." ... DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (knee) returned to practice Wednesday, but it was not clear whether he would play Friday. ... RB Ryan Grant (hamstring), LB A.J. Hawk (chest), Wells (lower back/"trunk"), DT Justin Harrell (back) and DT Daniel Muir (groin) sat out Wednesday's practice. McCarthy said Muir was expected to play Friday, but the others are expected to sit out.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
