GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) – Brett Favre is starting to worry that the Green Bay Packers are snakebit.

The team lost locker room leaders Gilbert Brown and Bryant Westbrook to season-ending injuries last week, bringing back bad memories of last season, when 14 starters missed a total of 68 games.

“After Gilbert went down and Bryant, I said, ‘Oh, God, here we go again,” Favre said Wednesday. “And I know it’s part of the business but it’s kind of hard not to be a little gun shy after the amount of injuries we had last year.”

The Packers went 12-4 but injuries caught up to them and they bowed out in the first round of the playoffs with Pro Bowlers Darren Sharper, Ahman Green and Donald Driver on the sideline. Friday night’s game at Cleveland will be the Packers’ first with the starting offense intact because tackles Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher and receivers Robert Ferguson and Driver will be making their preseason debuts.

So will Sharper, their defensive leader who has been out with a neck stinger.

Favre has always been able to adjust to new personnel, but the constant improvisation takes its toll: “It makes it difficult on us because we’re young,” he said.

Favre knows how injuries can have a destructive ripple effect, especially to a team with such little wiggle room under the salary cap.

“I think I’m more concerned now, or more aware of how injuries can affect not only our team but any team,” Favre said. “I bet if you ask those young guys the same question, they have no clue what’s going on or how injuries will affect the team.

“They have no idea how the salary cap plays into it, how difficult it is to replace guys or how dramatic a drop-off there is from the first unit to the second, third and fourth unit because that’s what we got into last year. We started digging deep and having to bring in guys off the street.”

Favre said it’s imperative for the Packers to get their starting units on the field quickly and to stay healthy for a change.

“I’m a little bit concerned. But that could easily be forgotten after this week because we’re getting guys back, he said.

Not since Week 2 last season have the Packers had all their preferred offensive starters on the field together.

“Regardless of who’s in there, you have to win. That’s the old saying,” Favre said. “But it’s tough.”

AP-ES-08-13-03 1941EDT