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GREEN BAY, Wis. - Judging from what the eyes see on Clarke Hinkle Field on Oneida Street, what the Packers were for so long and what they have become are two different things.
Their face, their identity, their character has changed.
But judging from the place where dominoes are toppled, towels are snapped and bonds are formed, the change is less dramatic.
Yes, Brett Favre's No. 4 jersey does not hang here anymore. The Lambeau Field locker that had been his is empty now.
To many of these young Packers, Favre is just another Lambeau legend, a photo on the wall like Bart Starr and Ray Nitschke. Twenty-one of the players on the roster never even practiced with him or sat in a meeting with him. Another 36 were around him for two seasons or less. And only 18 Packers spent more than two years with Favre.
So really, the outside world became much more accustomed to Favre in green and gold than the Packers' inside world.
"It's not what people think it is," coach Mike McCarthy says. "No disrespect to Brett, but it's so blown out of proportion. He was never really a part of this (2008) team as people would think. He was here for a day and a half (in the off-season)."
Losing Favre, the NFL's all-time leading passer, the player who started more games for the Packers than any other and the runner-up Most Valuable Player last season, has not affected the chemistry, attitude or confidence of the Packers, according to the Packer who played with Favre the longest and has the most to lose as a result of his leaving.
"The chemistry he and I had was different from the chemistry anyone else had with him because I played 10 years with him," wide receiver Donald Driver says. "Some of these guys only played a year or two with him."
Favre had been notorious for breaking and jamming the fingers of his receivers in training camp. With Favre halfway across the country, Driver still has a couple of jammed fingers, however.
"Aaron (Rodgers) throws harder than anyone I know," Driver says of Favre's replacement. "He doesn't have a touch. Brett has a touch. A-Rod is one of those guys who just has a fastball."
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