ENGLEWOOD — Special teams in Denver this season will be less redux and more redo.

Four men have overseen special teams in a dozen previous seasons under Mike Shanahan, with three switches since 2000.

Yet while the bodies have been in motion, the principles of the third phase with the Broncos had remained fairly static.

"The playbook never changed," said Keith Burns, a longtime Denver special teams captain and now part of the staff overseeing that realm.

Not anymore.

Change is at hand, and not just at the top.

Scott O’Brien, known as one of the premier special teams coaches in the NFL, is now directing things. And with his arrival comes a completely revised playbook.

"We do things a little bit different," O’Brien said. "But it’s done that way to help the players do their job better and give them a chance at doing it."

O’Brien’s attention to detail has been evident from the jump in training camp.

Kicker Jason Elam, who has played under Richard Smith, Rick Dennison, Frank Bush and Ronnie Bradford before O’Brien, marveled earlier this week when the Broncos, in just their third practice of camp, sprinted onto the field in a live, two-minute field-goal drill.

"We didn’t even do field-goal team then," he said of his past experiences. "I’m not even sure if guys knew who was on field goal."

But under O’Brien, the game within the game and situational drills are a regular occurrence.

This morning, the Broncos worked on a hurry-up scenario in which they were two points down, and with the clock ticking and not enough time to have the quarterback spike for a final three-point try, the field-goal unit rushed on and holder Paul Ernster took the snap, then spiked the ball.

"There’s more intensity. And there’s more time devoted to special teams now," Elam said.

On the sideline, the players have to be alert for quizzes on what-if scenarios from O’Brien rather than shooting the breeze.

O’Brien is fixed on leaving no stone unturned and makes sure his players are thinking that way, too. He not only has Burns helping him get his points across, but assistants Jimmy Spencer and Ryan Slowik, too.

"If we’re not doing it, we’re talking about it," said punter Todd Sauerbrun, who previously played under O’Brien with the Carolina Panthers from 2001-04. "No matter how tedious and how minor it is, we’re going to be prepared for every situation that will probably never even come up in games."

Even Burns, who made a nice living for more than a decade in the NFL on special teams, admitted he’s basically learning his speciality "all over again" because of the new techniques, terminology and playbook revisions he’s experiencing.

"He’s a coach who takes the same approach that I did as a player," Burns said of O’Brien. "Whatever the circumstances, the approach is we can — and will — win with special teams."

O’Brien’s teams historically have done that. His special-teams units have accounted for 31 scores other than field goals and extra points in his 14 NFL seasons with the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Panthers. He has had at least one player reach the Pro Bowl on special teams in eight different seasons, including Sauerbrun three times.

"They’ve got new rules about spiking the ball, where you can’t spike the ball, and it applies to returners, too, or blocking a punt or kick. I’m good with that," O’Brien said. "But I want them to spike the ball. I want them to get to the end zone, and once you get there, you can spike the ball all you want."

Denver recently has taken a more passive approach to special teams. Last season, the club ranked 31st in kickoff coverage, 31st in start after kickoff, 24th in gross punting, 23rd in penalties and didn’t score via a return or block. The team previously finished in the bottom eight in seven of 19 special-teams statistical categories in 2005 and resided in the lower half in nine of 19 areas in ’04.

That’s why Shanahan finally brought in someone with O’Brien’s pedigree. Even so, it takes more than experience at the top — it requires players to execute properly.

"We have to have guys out there that want to get it done. And. I think, coming from upstairs, that’s the mentality," Burns said.

It’s Burns' contention there wasn’t the full commitment necessary from some players during the past couple of seasons. Too many players outside the top 22 on offense and defense were worrying about their chances of cracking those units or lamenting infrequent snaps instead of embracing their special-teams contributions.

"You’re not only out there on special teams but out there to make plays. And I think we lost some of that in the past couple years," Burns said. "I don’t think it’ll be a problem this year because I know what I’m looking for. I know what Scott is expecting out of them. So I figure you put my mentality with his, there shouldn’t be too many cracks in there."

The front office has been cognizant of special-teams contributions in building the roster, whether with the additions of players such as Steve Cargile and Quentin Harris last year or D.D. Lewis and Paul Smith this spring.

So far, O’Brien has kept an open mind in assigning specific positions on the various units to players. He has gauged their skill sets and shuffled them around as needed to come up with the best mix. It’s all part of his strict attention to detail.

"He knows everything. It’s amazing," safety Curome Cox said. "It’s almost like he’s a mastermind when it comes to it. He’ll tell you why. He’ll tell you how. He knows exactly what it’s going to take. And we’re going to follow it."

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