By Arnie Stapleton
The Associated Press

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Mike Sherman would love to beef up his defense enough through the draft to give quarterback Brett Favre the chance to get to the Super Bowl again.

The Green Bay coach also knows it's high time he start thinking about that dreaded day that his unparalleled 33-year-old quarterback and three-time MVP walks away from football.

So, the coach and general manager is in a quandary as he holds the 29th pick in the NFL draft Saturday: Does he select Favre's heir apparent if such a quarterback is available? Or does he go for a defender such as a linebacker who can provide immediate assistance?

"We always say you want to take the best player there," Sherman said. "But you never know. Brett Favre could get hurt on the second play in the second game in the second quarter. That can happen in football."

Even though Favre hasn't missed a start for more than a decade.

"So, you have to take the best player you can at that point," Sherman said. "You hope you can address some needs at the game time."

Still, he'd be torn.

"The GM in you wants you to take the best player, the coach in you wants you to address the need," Sherman said. "But I do think we have to take the best player because if you don't you'll have regrets down the road."

Although Sherman is fretting over his first pick, he's actually thinking more about the later rounds because he doesn't have a second-rounder and nine of his 13 picks will come on Sunday, including seven in the final two rounds.

So, when most teams are winding down on the second day of the draft, Sherman and his staff will be at their busiest.

The Packers have a long history of finding gems in the later rounds, including Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila in the fifth round, Marco Rivera in the sixth and Donald Driver and Mark Tauscher in the seventh.

Their wish list includes linebackers, defensive linemen and safeties, a running back and offensive line help.

Then, there's the matter of finding Favre's replacement, something Sherman has said he would have done last year if a quality passer were available to the team in the top rounds.

Favre is year-to-year. Talk of retirement increases with each and every year he treks north for training camp.

Sherman said he met with Favre in Mississippi this offseason and he sensed Favre still has a fierce competitive fire.

"He feels good, doesn't feel beat up, banged up, looking forward to the season. So, he was very positive," Sherman said. "So, I think the future for him is what it is, he's going to keep playing as long as he feels he can play at the level he wants to play.

"Brett enjoys playing the game. He has not indicated to me that he doesn't. So, I don't see things changing here in the immediate future."

Still, the Packers lack even a top backup to Favre.

"Brett could get hurt," Sherman said. "So, it's not just whether he's going to play next year or the year after or the year after that."

But, having sent their second round pick to Philadelphia for cornerback Al Harris, they might not have enough ammunition to move up in the draft to select a quarterback they covet.

Either way, on Day 2 of the draft, they hope to find enough talent to help Favre get back to the Super Bowl, which he won six years ago.

Last year, the Packers had six selections overall and none in the final round, which helped them line up free agents to sign sooner than most teams.

They found some gems in the pool of undrafted players, including offensive lineman Kevin Barry, running back Tony Fisher, cornerback Erwin Swiney and linebacker Marcus Wilkins, all of whom contributed to the team's 12-4 season.

Sherman doesn't expect a similar run of success this year, however, because he and his staff will have their hands full in the late rounds Sunday.

"We're not going to be able to sign as many as we did last year because of the number of draft picks we have, but that's OK. I would rather have the pick than not have the pick," Sherman said.

"When you don't have a seventh, you can justify it to a young player that, 'If we had a seventh, we'd take you.' Well, that's pretty hard to sell. You call these guys up and say, 'We'd like to have you,' and the guy will say, 'Well, draft me. You have three picks.' He'd have a pretty good point there."

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