The Packers improved to 2-0 with a 30-23 victory Sunday at Carolina.

As always, there are things to build on, things to learn from and things that just never should have happened in the first place.

It's my weekly installment of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" from Week 2 of the Packers season.

The good: Charles Woodson had an outstanding performance – in spurts. He was certainly the most opportunistic member of the Packers defense which gave up more than 400 passing yards for a second straight week. Woodson's two interceptions and one fumble recovery were possibly the day's lone highlights.

I hesitate to say that the Packers red zone defense was "good" simply because the Panthers kept getting inside the Green Bay 20 to begin with. However, one cannot ignore that Dom Capers' unit came to play in the shadows of their own goal line for the second straight week. While it is true that Carolina quarterback Cam Newton missed Legedu Naanee on successive plays in the end zone on one drive, the Packers cover schemes inside their own five yard line yielded just two Panthers touchdowns in six attempts.

James Starks continues to run the ball effectively as well, racking up 85 yards on nine carries. The Packers don't run the ball much, but when they do, they run the ball effectively. For the second straight week, Starks was on the field more than Ryan Grant, who may find himself as the odd man out sooner rather than later. Starks runs with a controlled anger that the Packers have not seen in many years. While he might not have the explosiveness that the greats of the game possess, Starks is effective for what the Packers ask him to do.

For the second straight week, Aaron Rodgers threw for more than 300 yards and multiple touchdowns. Also for the second straight week his quarterback rating was over 100. He should have had one more touchdown pass, but Jermichael Finley dropped one in the end zone because the ball squirted loose as Finley fell to the turf. As the rule is interpreted, the call was correct. But the logic of the rule still escapes most of us. Rodgers first touchdown pass (49 yards to Greg Jennings in the third quarter) was one of the most perfectly thrown balls you will ever see.

Finley's five catches for 68 yards qualifies as a "good" as well. Finley is one of Rodgers' favorite targets for a reason – he creates mismatches all over the field. Finley stretches the defense like few tight ends in the NFL can do. The only things that have held him back over the years have been his immaturity and last season's injury. After some seasoning and at full strength, Finley has a chance to be one of the elite players at his position.

Finally, now that Donald Driver has broken James Lofton's all-time team receiving yards record, we don't have to keep hearing about it. That definitely qualifies as "good."

The bad: Oh, there was plenty of bad. Newton picked apart the Packers defense on Carolina's initial drive, culminating in a 3-yard touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell in the back of the end zone. On the ensuing kickoff, Green Bay rookie Randall Cobb fumbled it right back to the Panthers. After the Packers held the Panthers to a short Olindo Mare field goal, Rodgers finally got his hands on the football at the 6:32 mark of the first quarter. Unfortunately that possession was short lived in the form of a three-and-out.

In fact, you could put the Packers entire first quarter – on all sides of the ball – in the "total failure" category. Offensively they ran just three plays. Defensively, including the first 12 seconds of the second quarter, they allowed 163 total yards and 13 points to a team that went 2-14 in 2010. On special teams, there was Cobb's fumble. Green Bay came out flat, getting schooled by a rookie quarterback. Fortunately there were three quarters to correct at least some of those mistakes.

For the second straight week, Green Bay's defense surrendered over 400 yards through the air. For as opportunistic as Woodson was in creating three turnovers, Steve Smith got loose on six catches for a whopping 156 yards. As Newton's safety valve out of the backfield, Stewart caught eight passes for 100 yards. Newton's day would have been even better had he not flat-out missed Naanee twice when he was open in the end zone on successive plays. Carolina settled for a field goal, but putting up seven points instead of three had nothing to do with Green Bay's defense, which simply must improve.

Offensively, inside the red zone, the Packers were an abysmal 1-4 in converting touchdowns. Rodgers numbers were bolstered considerably by Jennings and Jordy Nelson's touchdown receptions of 49 and 84 yards, respectively. On those two plays alone, Rodgers accumulated 43 percent of his total passing yards for the entire game.

One thing I'm going to categorize as "bad" didn't hurt the Packers, but very well could have. As time was winding down in the first half, why did Packers coach Mike McCarthy run a play on 4th and 4 from the Panthers 45 yard line? Moreover, why was the play call a back-shoulder deep route to Jennings? In that situation, a higher percentage play at least would give Green Bay a better chance to keep possession. Instead, McCarthy gave the ball right back to Carolina in great field position.

Three plays after the Panthers took over on downs; Naanee was called for a ticky-tack offensive pass interference that was borderline at best. Without the whistle, that completion would have given Newton a fresh set of downs, 31 seconds and only 41 yards to go. The fourth down decision to go for it by McCarthy was an unnecessary gamble.

The ugly: The vast majority of time, I think it's a cheap pot-shot to take a swipe at the game announcers. It's a tough job that everyone picks apart with very little positive to say. No team's fans ever think their players are getting the correct amount of credit. Having been a broadcaster on the national level for many years I understand the importance of being neutral and it never being good enough. I cringe when I hear fans and even other media rip the guys in the booth.

However, I'm going to break that rule for the tandem of Pitts-Mora. Let me start with Pitts. I'll begin by saying that I think Ron Pitts has a multitude of talents. I just don't happen to think play-by-play is one of them. I have heard him as a football analyst and he is quite competent. Unspectacular, but competent. I have seen his work on the Discovery Channel and he seems more in his element. However, I'm still unsure why Fox has him in the play-by-play booth for their signature sports property. Is there no one else that can do that particular job better? I'd be willing to bet there is.

As for Jim Mora, Jr., I think he brings great insight and understanding of what coaches think of certain aspects of the game. I just don't think he has the foggiest idea of how to communicate that to a television audience. After years of listening to broadcasters fawn over Brett Favre, I know an on-air slobber-fest when I hear one. After listening to Mora for three hours, I have to conclude that Cam Newton is the second coming of Johnny Unitas, Randall Cunningham and Tom Brady all rolled into one. He's got smarts, he's got speed, he's got size, and he's got a laser-arm. The only thing Newton seemingly can't do is leap tall buildings in a single bound.

On and on and on Mora went gushing over a player in just his second career game. Either Mora couldn't come up with anything else to say about Newton, or he really is already petitioning the league to have his bust readied for Canton. While Newton may indeed get to wear an ugly yellow jacket on a steamy July afternoon in Ohio one day, one must still remember that he is just beginning his career.

In addition, when Mora started talking about how mature and humble of a young man Newton is, my mind flashed back to Pro Football Weekly's scouting report of the No. 1 overall pick:

"Very disingenuous — has a fake smile, comes off as very scripted and has a selfish, me-first makeup. Always knows where the cameras are and plays to them. Has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement that continually invites trouble and makes him believe he is above the law — does not command respect from teammates and always will struggle to win a locker room. Only a one-year producer. Lacks accountability, focus and trustworthiness — is not punctual, seeks shortcuts and sets a bad example. Immature and has had issues with authority. Not dependable."

So which is it? I was even more confused when Mora then ripped Newton later in the game for draping a towel over his head on the bench because it sets a bad message to teammates. But that's more like the kind of insight Mora can and should bring – those nuggets you otherwise wouldn't get. Tell us the tidbits that are seemingly small but have a big impact on the intangibles of a player. Those insights are the kinds of things the rest of us crave because we're not behind those closed doors. In summary, Mora needs to tone it down with the grandiose predictions for a player's future. Let time decide that.

There are a couple of other nit-picky things Mora did that were somewhat baffling and amusing. Confusing a telestrator for a teleprompter was one example that got me to chuckle. Mispronouncing Bryan Bulaga's name "Ba-luga" was another. Finally, when talking about quarterbacks and ball security opined "we all saw what happened to Troy Aikman the other night," when he obviously meant Tony Romo. All of that I can forgive Mora for as a rookie broadcaster. My only criticism of that is rookies should cut their teeth on calling MAC games on Saturday, not NFL games on Sunday.

The only other "ugly" was Packers safety Nick Collins face-planted on the stadium turf after a freak collision with Carolina's Jonathan Stewart in the fourth quarter. Collins did not return to Green Bay after the game, but was said to be resting comfortably and with movement and feeling in all of his extremities.