Considering where the special teams have been the past two years for Green Bay, Sunday's season opening 27-20 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles can be considered a big step forward for coordinator Shawn Slocum and his units.

The Packers ended the 2009 season ranked no. 31 out of 32 teams by the Dallas Morning News' annual special teams rankings by Rick Gosselin. They were ranked dead last by Football Outsiders. They weren't much better in the 2008 season, after which former coordinator Mike Stock retired.

As for 2010, it was only one game, but special teams were absolutely key to a performance in which the playing field was leveled and allowed the Packers offense to overcome two Aaron Rodgers interceptions.

"I can’t say enough of the commitment Shawn Slocum and Chad Morton have made with the changes on special teams and it’s gratifying to go out there on Week 1 and have the production we had in the return game," said head coach Mike McCarthy following the game.

The special teams game ball may go to Mason Crosby who kicked a franchise record 56-yard field goal as time expired in the first half and the Packers went to the locker room with 13-3 lead.

Crosby had a below average '09 season in which he connected on only 75% of his field goals and led several observers to believe that Crosby could be replaced, or at the very least, would face competition from another kicker in 2010.

The Packers showed their faith in Crosby by not bringing in any competition and handing him the job outright. The re-paid the favor with a 2-2 performances on field goals at Phildelphia by also connecting on a 49-yarder to tie the game 3-3 early in the second quarter.

On kickoff returns, Jordy Nelson exceeded expectations as he averaged a fantastic 31.2 yards on five returns with a long of 51 yards.

Last time Nelson was seen returning kicks in a game that counted, he was pulled from duty in the playoff loss the Arizona Cardinals last season after fumbling the football, one of two fumbles on the season.

The blocking in front of Nelson allowed him to get nearly 30 yards per return almost at will. The jobs by special teams regulars Derrick Martin and Desmond Bishop should not go overlooked in the success of the return game.

The Packers also did an admirable job keeping Pro Bowl return man DeSean Jackson in check, thanks to a solid outing from first-year punter Tim Masthay and the coverage units.

Masthay only had a pedestrian 41.5-yard gross average on four punts but had enough hangtime combined with solid coverage to force Jackson into two fair catches and only 14 yards on the the two punts he was able to return.

"I thought Tim did a good job punting, except he probably wishes he had the last one back, the one he kicked down the middle of the field, because that was not the plan," said McCarthy. "But I thought he did a good job of putting the ball on the sideline and I thought the coverage units were excellent."

Given the ill-adventures of Derrick Frost and Jeremy Kapinos the previous two seasons, the job by Masthay can only be seen as an upgrade.

Special teams weren't perfect. Masthay had a fourth quarter line drive punt that would have been better had he had more hangtime and pinned the Eagles inside the 20. Crosby had a kickoff that went out of bounds.

But in view of a phase of the game that had been hindering the Packers for consecutive years, it's hard to classify Sunday's feat as anything short of a significant advancement.