Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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GREEN BAY – The Packers' defense waded through several injuries in the secondary en route to perhaps its best all-around performance Monday night against the Atlanta Falcons.
One reason for that was the play of third-year safety Raven Greene, who recorded a career-high eight tackles and a sack in his most extensive playing time of the season.
Green Bay had been gradually working Greene back into the lineup after he missed the regular-season opener in Minnesota due to a quadriceps injury that sidelined him during the last two weeks of training camp.
According to Pro Football Focus, Greene's 50 defensive snaps Monday night were split amongst box safety/defensive front (26 snaps), slot cornerback (17) and free safety (seven). It was the most he'd played since Green Bay's 2019 opener in Chicago.
"It was good to see Raven have a breakout night, get some more reps and make some plays," defensive coordinator Mike Pettine said. "He was just a guy we felt we needed to ease back in … get into game shape; log some practice reps to see it and rep it, and (I) see an expanded role for him moving forward. He's a versatile guy."
The Packers tapped deep into that versatility of Greene's against the Falcons. He started in his traditional role as a hybrid safety in the Packers' nickel package before dropping back in relief of an injured Darnell Savage at free safety.
After Savage returned, Greene then moved to the slot in the dime package after Chandon Sullivan left with a concussion and didn't return. He finished the game as Green Bay's nickel cornerback after Sullivan's replacement, Will Redmond, also exited with an injury.
His biggest play came from the slot position, when Greene sacked Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan for an 11-yard loss off a delayed blitz on third-and-4. The result of the play forced Atlanta to punt with 1 minutes, 48 seconds left before halftime.