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Brett Favre Elsa/Getty Projected starting lineup Offense No. Player Pos. 4 Brett Favre QB 30 Ahman Green RB 33 William Henderson FB 88 Bubba Franks TE 80 Donald Driver WR 89 Robert Ferguson WR 76 Chad Clifton LT 68 Mike Wahle LG 58 Mike Flanagan C 62 Marco Rivera RG 65 Mark Tauscher RT 8 Ryan Longwell K Defense No. Player Pos. 74 Aaron Kampman DE 75 Grady Jackson DT 97 Cletidus Hunt DT 94 Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila DE 59 Na'il Diggs LB 56 Nick Barnett LB 50 Hannibal Navies LB 31 Al Harris CB 34 Mike McKenzie CB 42 Darren Sharper FS 23 Mark Roman SS 11 B.J. Sander P 2004 Draft Rd. Player Pos. School 1 Ahmad Carroll CB Arkansas 3 Joey Thomas CB Montana State 3 Donnell Washington DT Clemson 3 B.J. Sander P Ohio State 6 Corey Williams DT Arkansas State 7 Scott Wells C Tennessee Outside the Huddle In the (red) zone One key to Green Bay's success is its ability to step it up a notch near the goal line -- on both sides of the ball. In 2003, the Packers were the only team in the league to rank in the top 5 in red-zone offense (second) and red-zone defense (fifth). Win big, lose small The Packers earned their 10 regular-season wins by an average of 17.4 points (second-highest in the NFL) and their average margin of defeat in their six losses was just 6.5 points, tied for lowest in the league. Restful Sundays for the refs The only yellow on Green Bay's side of the line is on the team's helmets and pants. The Packers were the NFC's least-penalized team in 2003. Sixty-year flood Packer fans spent the offseason agonizing over Philadelphia's 4th-and-26 conversion with 1:12 remaining in the NFC Divisional playoff game. David Dolan, an assistant math professor at UW-Green Bay, calculated the odds of the Eagles' converting the play at that time in the game at 1 in 339 -- or once every 60 years of NFL action. Make you feel better, cheeseheads? Lonely at the top Since Brett Favre began his record streak of 189 consecutive starts by a quarterback on Sept. 27, 1992, the rest of the league has started 172 different quarterbacks. The hated Chicago Bears have started the most QBs during that period -- 16. 2003 Revisited The Prophecy: "[Linebacker Nick] Barnett is known as a highly emotional player ... and he could earn a starting job." The Lie: "The strength of the Packer defense lies in the secondary." --Athlon Sports Pro Football 2003

OK, Dairy Staters. We know you've got milk. Got questions, too, don't you? How do you remember 2003? For a magical regular-season finish or an improbable postseason defeat? What do you make of Brett Favre? A man whose legend grows bigger -- America's "toughest man" -- or one whose playing days may nearly be over?

Isn't Green Bay supposed to be pro football's mecca? Then why is Mike McKenzie demanding to be traded?

And what of Green Bay's consistency? The streak of non-losing seasons (12) is unheard of in today's NFL, but are the Green and Gold ever going back to the Super Bowl?

And just how confident are you about 2004? Virtually the entire team is back. But the rest of the division is improving. Is this the year Green Bay brings another championship back to Titletown, or starts its inevitable tumble?

As if anyone needed to confirm it, Men's Journal did. Favre is the toughest guy in the US of A. So what if Hillary Clinton also made the list -- maybe Daniel Snyder should sign her. America watched as Favre played through physical and emotional pain -- but neither a broken thumb on his throwing hand nor the death of his father seemed to hurt his performance. Shoot, he played better, leading the league with 32 touchdown passes and enjoying the most accurate season in Packer history (65.4 completion percentage).

Favre's bust in Canton is so assured it's already collecting dust, but he enters 2004 with a passion for a second Super Bowl title and a few more significant milestones within reach. With just 279 yards passing, he'll move past John Elway into second place all-time in postseason passing yards, trailing only Joe Montana (5,772). He can extend his own NFL records for consecutive seasons with 3,000 yards (12) and 30 touchdowns (seven), and run up his streak of consecutive games started (189). Backup? Pack don't need no stinkin' backup. But they signed former No. 1 overall pick Tim Couch anyway, as a potential heir to the thrown.

Who needs Favre, anyway? Take a look at the average yards per rush for Green Bay's top three running backs and it appears head coach Mike Sherman could have asked No. 4 to turn around and hand the ball off and it would have resulted in a first down after just two plays every single time. Ahman Green (5.3), Najeh Davenport (5.5), and Tony Fisher (5.0) all averaged at least five yards per carry. The good news is the Packers set a franchise record with 2,558 rushing yards; the better news is that all the backs, and the entire offensive line, return in '04.

Green is arguably the league's most versatile back. In addition to ranking second in the NFL with 1,883 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, he also ranked second among all Packers in receptions (50) and receiving touchdowns (five). Davenport gives the Packers a nice change of pace -- he's a bigger, more punishing runner than Green -- and he figures to become an even bigger part of the Packers offense in his third season.

Dependable veteran William Henderson and heir apparent Nick Luchey willingly do the dirty work, and only the dirty work, at fullback -- the duo combined for one rushing attempt last season.

Two of Sherman's boldest moves as Packers GM were using high draft picks on Robert Ferguson and Javon Walker. Both receivers began to fulfill their promise last season, providing Favre with reliable second and third options to complement veteran Donald Driver.

Still, this isn't a stable of receivers built for those more concerned with fantasy stats than NFC North reality: Driver led the Pack with just 52 receptions, and the trio combined for only 131 catches. (For perspective, Torry Holt led the NFL with 117 on his own.) The sure-handed Ferguson has emerged as a good luck charm, with Green Bay going 7–0 in his career when he either catches a TD or leads the team in receiving. Walker's speed gives him big-play ability -- he led Green Bay receivers with 17.5 yards per reception in '03.

Pro Bowler Bubba Franks gives Favre a steady if unspectacular target at tight end. He has scored 20 touchdowns during the past three seasons.

For a franchise long associated with perfecting a running play, the Packer Sweep, it's saying something to call the current edition of the offensive line the best in team history. But consider these facts: This is a group that will be playing its fourth year together as a unit, and they're coming off a year in which they paved the way for the most rushing yards and fewest sacks (in a 16-game season) in team history.

Returning at tackle are Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton (re-signing him was the Packers' key offseason move), with Pro Bowler Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle back at guard and Pro Bowler Mike Flanagan at center. The line remained injury-free last year. Duplicating that feat might be the toughest challenge these guys face all year.

This much-maligned unit got a boost with the midseason acquisitions of Grady Jackson and Larry Smith. The defense stands to benefit with both around from the start this year. In the final eight games of '03, only the Patriots gave up fewer points than the Packers, and Green Bay allowed just one 100-yard rusher in the last 11 games of the season. (Still, that wasn't good enough to keep Ed Donatell from being fired.)

Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila earned a Pro Bowl berth and is still the Packers' leading sack threat, while Aaron Kampman holds down the other end spot. Joining Jackson inside is Cletidus Hunt, who will be expected to generate more of a pass rush in '04.

Heading into last season, the linebacker position was the Packers' biggest question mark. Now, Sherman says it's the defense's biggest strength. That's thanks in large part to Nick Barnett, who exceeded expectations by leading the Packers with 134 tackles as a rookie, only the sixth Packer rookie ever to top 100. Flanking Barnett are Na'il Diggs and Hannibal Navies, both of whom stepped up their games a year ago.

If linebacker is no longer much of a concern, the secondary certainly is. Ball-hawking free safety Darren Sharper continues to be the class of the group. He's likely to be joined at safety by Mark Roman, a free agent picked up from Cincinnati who will battle Marques Anderson for a starting job.

At cornerback, McKenzie was still around in mid July, though he has demanded a trade. Al Harris returns for a second year in Green Bay but lacks speed. The Packers used their first two draft picks to shore up the secondary, surprising many by taking Arkansas' Ahmad Carroll in the first round and grabbing Montana State's Joey Thomas in the third. If McKenzie's wish is granted, these rookies will compete with Bhawoh Jue for a starting job.

After bidding adieu to the underachieving Josh Bidwell, the Packers used a third-round draft pick on Ohio State's B.J. Sander, winner of the Ray Guy Award as the top collegiate punter. Ryan Longwell returns for his eighth season and has become the Packers' all-time leading scorer.

With a good stable of receivers, the league's best running game and a living legend at quarterback, this is a team that will score lots of points. Defensively, new coordinator Bob Slowik needs his charges to play like they did in the second half of '03, when they allowed only one opponent to amass more than 300 yards of offense in a game. If those things happen, this is a team that will contend for the Super Bowl.

Should an offseason marked by uncharacteristic player discontent and frustration over last year's debacle in Philadelphia continue to haunt the defense, this could be a team skating on very thin frozen tundra.

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