DEPERE, Wis. -- Mike Sherman felt he needed to roll the dice. Why not? The Green Bay Packers head coach has a riverboat gambler of a quarterback who has only so many rolls left in his right hand.

Good isn't good enough. For receivers, Sherman couldn't settle for just good in what could be the final five or six years of Brett Favre's remarkable career.

"Those guys, in my opinion, had enough talent to establish themselves as premier guys," Favre said. "They were given chances others never got. The last thing I want to do is knock those guys."

But Sherman's decision said it all. Antonio Freeman was cut. Bill Schroeder and Corey Bradford weren't re-signed. Saying goodbye to the top three wide receivers on a playoff team is rare in the NFL. Replacing them with troubled Patriots receiver Terry Glenn and raw talents Robert Ferguson and Javon Walker is like going to a craps table with two burley collectors standing behind you and only $20 in your pocket.

	Terry Glenn caught only 14 passes last season for the Patriots.

"Everything is a gamble," Sherman said, "not just on personality or injury or whether a player fits in on your team. I think every time you bring somebody into your program, it's a risk. I can't think of one player you bring in here that isn't a risk. They may have arthritis or a bum shoulder. I think in this case reward outweighs the risk."

Glenn takes that answer one step further. "I look at it like he already rolled the dice and he already won," Glenn said. "I know what he got."

Favre is just learning what Sherman acquired, and he likes the potential.

Sherman put the green back into the Green Bay passing offense. Glenn is the oldest (28) and most talented of Favre's targets, but he's coming off years of turmoil and a disastrous 2001 season in which he caught 14 passes and one drug suspension. Ferguson, Charles Lee and Donald Driver combined for only 16 receptions for the Packers last season. Walker, the Packers' first-round choice, is a tall, raw underclassman with great potential.

"Somebody better step up," Favre said. "To me, I couldn't tell you who's going to start on the one side. I know Terry Glenn's going to start. Whoever you put out there, you are rolling the dice, and that's not a negative thing. The effort is there. The talent is there. We will be able to rotate guys in and out. We've done it without a premier guy for so long."

Sherman's thoughts are that this group could be Favre's main pass-catching unit for the next five years. They are bigger and faster than Favre's past targets, but there is no guarantee Glenn will be the go-to guy. A missed drug test could cost him a suspension, but he cost the franchise only a fourth-round choice (which could move higher depending on his performance) -- rather inexpensive for the most talented receiver given to Favre since Sterling Sharpe.

"For physical talent, I'm at the top," Glenn said. "I'm one of the best receivers, pound for pound, in the league."

That is quite evident watching practice. Glenn is explosive, but he has an uncanny ability to shake-and-bake his body to evade a cornerback. Favre likes some of the discipline with which Glenn runs routes, even though he knows Glenn has to make the transition from the Patriots' offense to the Packers'.

Communication between Sherman and Glenn was clear from the start. Before making the trade, Sherman flew to Cincinnati to meet Glenn. Sherman looked Glenn in his eyes and liked what Glenn had to say. Glenn said, "Coach, just tell me what you want and I'll deliver."

So far he has followed through with his promise, although the snickers from the New England market are deafening. In an ESPN The Magazine article, Glenn admitted to smoking marijuana, a four-year mistake that cost him $10 million. Living one day at a time now, Glenn has been a model citizen for the Packers.

Glenn hasn't been late for meetings. He involved himself in the Packers' offseason conditioning program. In his free time, he speaks to youngsters in DARE programs and in high schools. Sherman even likes the way Glenn bonds with fans. Instead of riding an early bus across the Lambeau Field parking lot to get early stretching for tight hamstrings -- an option for players with injury concerns -- Glenn opts to accept a bike ride from young Packer fans.

"He's embraced his job here, and he's embraced the Green Bay community," Sherman said. "He's really trying to do the right thing. He seems to enjoy the limelight here in Green Bay. It's not as bright as it is in other places, but I think it's bright enough for him."

	"	Somebody better step up. To me, I couldn't tell you who's going to start on the one side. I know Terry Glenn's going to start. Whoever you put out there, you are rolling the dice, and that's not a negative thing. The effort is there. The talent is there. We will be able to rotate guys in and out. We've done it without a premier guy for so long. "
		— Brett Favre, Packer quarterback

Glenn admits to not fitting in at New England. It always puzzled him that talented players were let go so often during his early days with the team. After a 90-catch rookie season, Glenn never relived that success.

"I was always looked at as the leading receiver, but I wasn't the oldest receiver," Glenn said. "In a sense here, I have so many things I can focus on. I have to go out and do well for myself so I can help the team."

The Packers were desperate for a go-to receiver. Freeman had that job for years, but the team felt that his speed -- which was never an asset -- had diminished and he wasn't worth $6 million a year. Favre pushed management to keep him at a reduced salary. Freeman wouldn't accept that. He was cut.

"Antonio didn't have blazing speed," Favre said. "He didn't have speed at all, but what was more amazing is that he didn't need it. He could do things guys with speed couldn't do. I lobbied for him to come back because of what we had accomplished together in the past. That can't be forgotten."

Still, management looked at Favre's long-lasting skills for throwing the ball and didn't like what their receivers produced last season. The flanker in the offense should catch between 80 and 105 passes. In a good year, the split end could catch 70. Halfback Ahman Green led the offense with 62 receptions, which fits the mold. But 50-catch seasons by the outside threats aren't good enough.

"In the past three or four years, I couldn't tell who is going to lead our team in receptions," Favre said. "I wasn't really worried about it. I take it as it comes. Now, there are a lot of guys out there who can perform, and they have to step up."

The question is when? The Packers believe they have a chance at a Super Bowl. Sherman spoke recently at the Packers' stockholders meeting, saying, "I promise you, I'll never get in front of you and say we're rebuilding. Someone saying it won't be me. You'll have another guy who's saying it."

Packers stockholders accepted Sherman's words. After all, he vowed to upgrade the running offense, and he stole Green from the Seahawks in a trade. The offensive line returns whole for the first time in a long time. Adding defensive end Joe Johnson to the defense should resolve late-season problems stopping the run and give the team another pass-rushing threat.

"I did my homework on both (Glenn and Johnson) fairly extensively," Sherman said. "You can do all the work in the world, but they still have to come in here and work."

So far, it has worked. And the real test comes in September.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.