With Brett Favre tossing the pigskin in shorts and a T-shirt, talking about his summer yardwork in Mississippi and hosting another celebrity softball game to cap off the festivities, Packers mini-camp had a familiar, timeless feeling last week as autumn Sundays began to creep into the state's collective conscious.

But upon closer inspection, the sense of permanence is only jersey-deep. While No. 4 remains his indomitable self, the rest of the roster has almost completely turned over in recent years, with only the Packers' record remaining the same since the early 1990s.

Green Bay's consistency in a league synonymous with change is notable. Of the '90s NFC Championship teams, only Favre, Frank Winters, William Henderson, Darren Sharper, Ryan Longwell and Gilbert Brown remain (Marco Rivera and Tyrone Davis contributed on special teams in '97, as well) -- and only the first three contributed to the '96 Super Bowl championship.

Of the 22 probable offensive and defensive starters in 2003, nine were drafted in 2000 or later: Chad Clifton, Mark Tauscher, Bubba Franks, Javon Walker {or Robert Ferguson}, Rod Walker {or Steve Warren}, Na'il Diggs, Nick Barnett, and Marques Anderson. If you expand that list to include '99 draft choices, the number jumps to 12 -- adding Donald Driver, Cletidus Hunt and Hannibal Navies, not to mention punter Josh Bidwell.

In other words, more than half of Green Bay's likely 2003 starters have been around the league for less than five full seasons, but the Packers are still coming off a 12-4 year and are again favored to win the NFC Central. Chalk that up to Mike Sherman, Ron Wolf, Mark Hatley and the rest of the Packer front office.

The key to any Super Bowl dream, of course, is still the Packers' grizzled veteran. But while Favre enters his 13th year as a pro, it's the team's surrounding youth and athleticism which make it a legitimate contender.

All three of Favre's wide receiver targets are 28 or younger, with Walker (24) and Ferguson (23) entering their second and third seasons, respectively. Tight end Bubba Franks is just 25. Both Driver and Franks have been to Pro Bowls, with Walker and Ferguson expected to reach a similar level soon.

The offensive line, long a bastion of veteran names such as Winters, Earl Dotson and Ross Verba, has been transformed by twenty-something tackles Clifton and Tauscher (both coming off injury troubles in 2002), as well as Mike Wahle and Mike Flanagan.

Change has been most prevalent on the defensive side of the ball, where coordinator Ed Donatell has turned the team into a speed-based, pursuit-oriented unit out of the ashes of a defensive line and size-driven group.

The linebackers, in particular, are completely revamped. Diggs is now the stalwart, with free agent Navies and rookie Barnett both likely to start with him this year. All are 25 or younger and represent a seismic shift from the likes of Hardy Nickerson, Bernardo Harris and George Koonce in both athleticism and style.

Despite the inexperience at linebacker, the Packers are excited about the unit's potential. Additionally, head coach Mike Sherman and Donatell are confident that new linebackers coach Mark Duffner will get the most from the group's raw talent.

Duffner helped develop Bengals standout Brian Simmons over the last several years in Cincinnati. His key chore -- in addition to grooming Oregon State rookie Barnett as an immediate starter -- may well be Navies, who was injury-prone and inconsistent during his tenure at Carolina. Now, he's expected to start on the strong side for Green Bay.

All this youth only accentuates the necessity and supremacy of the aging, superstar quarterback. The talk of Favre's pending retirement is amplified simply because of how often he's asked about it. But Favre also appears willing to step down sooner than the likes of John Elway or Dan Marino, who both played until their late 30s.

Favre will be 34 this season; will he play past his 35th birthday? His 36th?

Only Brett really knows. But while pessimistic Packer backers sweat out the eventual retirement of their all-time favorite, they should also know this: Green Bay is primed to win the Super Bowl with the talent base surrounding its hero -- this year.

If Favre can put together another excellent season, a new cast of legends could be canonized in Lambeau Field this fall.