Packers' special teams look to take the next step

GREEN BAY – Ron Zook knows the value of adaptability on special teams. It’s a necessity for any coordinator working with young players and prospects at football’s highest level.

When injuries strike on offense or defense, it’s the third phase that gets pillaged for the next man up. Often, another first- or second-year player must step in to fill the void and keep the special-team units calcified in every phase.

That was Zook’s task during a challenging 2017 campaign in which the Packers cycled through three different long-snappers and a chorus of other contributors. Despite the changes, Green Bay’s special teams managed to stay in sync en route to a respectable 16th-place finish in Rick…