Special teams overhaul, one month in

Thirty days after the special teams coordinator change, the shape of the unit is clear enough to describe. The coverage teams are younger and faster, the return job has a new name at the top of the depth chart, and the kicking competition ended in early August without much announcement.

The biggest change is philosophical. The previous staff prized experience on the coverage units; the new one prizes speed and is willing to live with a missed assignment or two in exchange for it.

Whether that trade works shows up on the first punt of Sunday's opener, when the coverage team runs at full speed for the first time with the season on the line.