Paul Dehner Jr., and Jim Owczarski

Cincinnati

A.J. Green missed practice Thursday. For the first time this camp, he wasn't there.

Nothing to fret, however, as Green was attending a doctor’s appointment with his pregnant wife, Miranda. Their first child is due next month. They needed to run through the procedure should their boy come early between now and the Sept. 30 due date.

Head coach Marvin Lewis excused Green.

“It was good for coach Lewis,” Green said. “I didn’t even ask him, he just said I could go.”

The bigger question then became what would happen should he need to go to the hospital for the birth on a game day this year. The Bengals host Denver on Sept. 25 and Miami on Thursday night, Sept. 29.

No debate for No. 18.

“I can’t play,” he said. “First one, definitely. I want to be there.”

He hopes such a sacrifice won’t be necessary. Green doesn’t care when the time comes, but if he had a choice, the perfect time is a fairly large window.

“Just not a game day,” he said. “Anything before a game day would be ideal.”

ERICKSON ON TRACK: Undrafted free agent receiver Alex Erickson already owns the role of preseason surprise. He secured it with two punt returns for 110 yards and a touchdown as well as a three-yard TD reception from AJ McCarron.

Two more games in the same ballpark could secure him a spot on the 53-man roster. The Wisconsin product finds himself in a battle with incumbent Brandon Tate for the final spot in the receiver room and job as returner opposite Adam Jones.

“I try not to think about it,” Erickson said. “I just try to take the same approach. You put in the time and be prepared and come to work. I have the mentality of your number is called you know what to do, how to do it and do it fast. That’s been my whole mentality about being consistent and stacking days on days on days.”

He’ll need to stack a few more receptions on to his three catches for 12 yards. Even with the touchdown, showing productivity and potential out of the slot these next two games could mark the difference come final cuts.

“The ball is going all over, we are throwing down the field, underneath, guys are making plays,” he said. “I need to keep running every route to win and keep doing what I’m doing.”

LAFELL DEBUT COMING: On Wednesday, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said wide receiver Brandon LaFell would make his debut on Sunday night in Jacksonville, noting that game action is different than the three-plus weeks of practice the free agent acquisition has had with Andy Dalton.

On Thursday, LaFell reiterated that point.

“Everything happens more faster, you’re getting hit, it’s not once you catch the ball the whistle is blown and everybody stops,” he said. “Now you have to catch the ball, make a move, you gotta finish, you gotta make a guy miss. It’s different. And seeing that timing. The pass rush is live now so the ball is coming out quicker. It’s different than practice so I definitely need to get out there.”

The 29-year-old receiver suffered ligament damage in his right hand just ahead of the Bengals’ first preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings on Aug. 12. He caught passes in warmups before the Bengals kicked off against the Detroit Lions last Thursday and has participated in four straight practices this week.

“The less I think about it the better I feel,” he said. “I tell the guys don’t talk about it, don’t ask me about it, let’s just go out here and play.”

LaFell also said the game action is important to further solidify his chemistry with Dalton, noting that every quarterback has spots they want receivers to be on certain routes.

“Everybody have their own spots, everybody has their own feel,” LaFell said of the quarterbacks he’s worked with. “It’s just me getting out of the (Tom) Brady ways and getting in the Andy ways and getting to the spots Andy wants me to be at and my timing and getting my head around and this yard line or that, just getting my chemistry with Andy, that’s the most important part of me getting back out there.”