GREEN BAY, Wis. -- After 5,993 passes, 3,652 completions and 173 consecutive starts, Brett Favre could call it quits at anytime. A disappointing season by the Packers could do it. If he loses confidence in his receivers, Favre could retire.

	Brett Favre has been the heart and soul of the Packers. Who could replace him?

However, from the looks of Favre at Packers training camp, now isn't the time to mow grass in his Mississippi farm. Donald Driver developed last season as his "go-to" receiver. Robert Ferguson and Javon Walker, inexperienced and uncertain a year ago, exploded onto the practice field as camp began with polish and power that excites a gunslinger like Favre. The Packers receiving corps is the transfusion that should keep Favre's blood from going anemic in the game he's played for 13 professional seasons.

"He'll retire, but when is the question," Packers coach Mike Sherman said. "I don't think it will be this year. I don't know when it will be, only Brett knows. But he doesn't practice or play like anyone who wants to hang up his shoes. He takes it one year at a time. I know he loves being in Mississippi and being on his farm, but I think he'll have a hard time on Sundays knowing the Packers are playing a game without him."

Organizationally, the Packers gamble on completely revamping the receiving corps may be the life blood that will keep Favre playing for the next three seasons and extending the consecutive game streak into the 200s. The trio of Driver, Ferguson and Walker offers an unprecedented explosiveness to the Packers passing attack. But this trio knows that it must keep working and improving to keep Favre in the game.

"It's not too often you have three receivers who can all run 4.3 40s," Walker said. "We all complement each other. The way we are, defenses can't really key on one person because we all have the speed to be vertical and we have the speed to go the distance. With a quarterback like Brett, hopefully, we can perform like we are all capable of, and he'll stick around even longer knowing what he will have to throw to."

Less than two hours into the first practice of camp, Favre rifled a 30-yard spiral that teased Ferguson, who zipped behind a defender but needed to extend his body in the air for the catch. Packers fans went agog at the sight of the reception. Favre got a brief second of inspiration and moved on to the next play.

"By far, this is the most talent at that position that I have ever played with as a whole," Favre said. "There is a lot of inexperience. In some ways, it's fun. There is a lot of energy. It is a lot easier to deal with guys when they make mistakes at full speed. I think the potential is there to put up a lot of points. It's much like the Rams several years ago. There is a lot of size, speed and ability."

Ferguson is a 6-foot-1, 209-pound threat with only one start last year who caught 22 passes. Even as a second-year Packer in 2002, he was raw. He played only one season of Division I ball at Texas A&M before turning pro early. He lacked confidence in his route running. Favre hadn't gained confidence in him yet. Tuesday was a good start, and Ferguson is the one to take credit.

He worked with a personal trainer in Houston who improved his speed, which dropped from the 4.4 to 4.5 range to 4.3. Sherman identified one of the key stats for a Super Bowl team as "yards per attempt." Despite last year's 12-win season, Favre's yard per attempt dropped to 6.6, .5 below his career average of 7.1. It was the third lowest of his career. As potent as the Packers were last season (fourth in NFC in scoring), they still finished 12th in league total offensive stats.

"We got vertical last year, but we didn't make those catches," Sherman said. "Hopefully, this year we can get better. It will open up some things with our ability to do that."

While Ferguson shows more polish at the split end position, Walker might be the most improved receiver. He caught 23 passes as a rookie for 319 yards, but nine drops prevented him from breaking out and getting more than two starts. Like Ferguson, Walker, a former Marlins baseball player with only one legitimate year of playing in college, trained hard. He gained 15 pounds of muscle. His body fat dropped to four percent. His hands improved dramatically.

"I needed to be a little stronger," Walker said. "I came in last year and took a couple of shots from a couple of the great safeties in the league. This year, if I do take a couple of shots, I want them to feel it."

Now, Favre has big targets with speed. Walker is 6-3 and 223 pounds. Starting flanker Driver is 6-foot, but he plays like he's 6-2. He's an Olympic caliber high-jumper at seven-feet, six-and-a-half inches. He's recorded 53.5 feet in the triple jump and 26.5 in the long jump. He just fell short of making the U.S. Olympic team in the high jump, but skipped the 2000 Olympics since he was with the Packers.

Relative to his performance from 1999 to 2001, Driver did an 8-foot high jump last season. He earned the honor of being Favre's "go-to" guy, catching 70 passes for 1,064 yards and nine touchdowns. Plus, the old man of the receiver group at a relatively young age of 28, Driver taught Ferguson and Walker the professionalism and hard work needed at the position. Now, their goal is to each have a 1,000-yard season in what Favre's hopes is his fourth 4,000-yard passing season.

"I don't think there is a limit to what we can do," Walker said. "I think we each could put up 1,000."

Add to that mix halfback Ahman Green, who can break a touchdown on any handoff, and Pro Bowl tight end Bubba Franks, coming off a 54-catch season, and it's no wonder Favre is excited about this season.

New rivals

The rivalry for the Packers opening game against the Vikings in Lambeau continues to grow. Vikings defensive tackle Chris Hovan, involved in a fineable battle and a couple in incidents from last year's divisional games, says he has pictures of Favre and souvenirs of Favre around his home for motivation. Favre fired back his response to that Tuesday. Asked if opponents try to use him as motivation, Favre said, "I would seem that way." "I didn't up anything up in my house," Favre said about Hovan. "My wife wouldn't let me." All of a sudden, Hovan is becoming to Favre what he used to have in a competitive rivalry with Warren Sapp when the Bucs were in the NFC Central. "Like I said before, I'd love having him on my team, but he needs to get him a wife and have some kinds and get a life outside of football," Favre said. "This will probably get back to him and he'll start barking and stuff like that. And he'll put up more stuff of Favre. Five or six years from now, he'll probably look back at this and say, `What an idiot he was."' After 13 years, Favre said he gets tired hearing about such motivational ploys. -- John Clayton

Former Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg, a long-time NFL great who played at Milton College in Wisconsin, said it best Tuesday while watching practice from the sidelines. Favre's biggest challenge at age 33 is finding peers to relate with because they are so much younger. He's got nine and 10 years on Ferguson and Walker. In the starting lineup on offense and defense, the Packers have only three other players -- fullback William Henderson, guard Marco Rivera and defensive end Joe Johnson -- in their 30s, but Favre is the oldest at 33.

His longtime teammates and friends such as Mark Chmura and others have retired. It's lonely at the top, and training camp is the toughest because the days are so long and grueling. Favre still plays with a lust. In early camp practices, he was jabbing the coaches and teasing them as he ran plays.

"It's much different," Favre said. "If you play long enough, you go from being a young rookie trying to still establish yourself and make a name to one of the guys and then, all of a sudden, to one of the old guys. I've gone through all of those stages. Reggie White used to say I was the team leader years ago, but I was just a young punk. When Leroy Butler was over there, he was the leader of the defense. Now, Darren Sharper is the veteran but he's still young."

Favre's going through changes. His family commitments grow. He has a daughter entering high school. There are always new bills to pay, family commitments to fulfill. He's 33, which is young, but he's been an NFL player for 13 years. The good news for the Packers and their fans is that the game is still fun.

But at some point, the fun will run out, so the key for the Packers is keeping Favre motivated with talent and the thoughts of going back to the Super Bowl. Like last year, the Packers had the table set for a Super Bowl run. They are coming off a division title and have the league's third easiest schedule (.449 opponents' record and only seven games against teams 8-8 or better).

The roster is younger than past years. Speed has improved. The oldest receiver is 28. Nine starters on defense are 27 or younger. Franks is 25. Green is 26.

"I remember when I got here in 2000, everybody was saying that we were in decline," Sherman said. "We've increased the youth on this team. As long as we keep No. 4 (Favre), we have a chance. I guarantee he can play until he's 40 years old. He'll play as long as he feels good and likes what he's doing and whom he's doing it with."

Favre reported to camp at a trim 224 pounds. Though he can't turn back the clock on his age at 33, his team did. They are young. They are vibrant. The offense offers potentially more explosiveness than the Super Bowl team that featured Robert Brooks, Antonio Freeman and Dorsey Levens.

To keep Favre going, though, those youngsters have to prove it.

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.