CINCINNATI (AP)Looking for more big plays out of their safet

Andre Tippett Jersey , the Bengals drafted one who learned to track balls in the air while playing center field on high school fields in neighboring Indiana.Jessie Bates III even hit a few home runs, too.Cincinnati traded down in the second round of the draft Friday and focused on a defense that slipped last season, taking Bates III from Wake Forest with the 46th overall pick. They kept at it in the third round, picking defensive end Sam Hubbard from Ohio State and linebacker Malik Jefferson from Texas.They added to all three levels of the defense – line, linebacker and secondary – in a one-day flurry.”We did a lot in the early part of the offseason with our offense,” coach Marvin Lewis said. ”We wanted to address the defense today. That was our plan, and we were able to stick to it.”First, they went for a safety who has man-to-man coverage skills and a knack for being around the ball. He honed that skill while playing center field at Snider High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He also was a point guard on the basketball team.”Baseball is the same thing: track the ball off the bat,” Bates said in a conference call. ”It’s the same thing as reading the quarterback, reading his eyes. Basketball helped with that as well, with the anticipation, being able to read things, knowing how other players are thinking.”The Bengals could see how it translated.”Kids that play baseball have a phenomenal feel for looking over the shoulder and tracking balls either way, and he can do that,” safeties coach Robert Livingston said.The Bengals had only 11 interceptions last season, tied for 10th-fewest in the league. Their safeties combined for three. Cornerback Darqueze Dennard led the team with two.It was part of an overall slide by the defense, which finished 18th in yards allowed and 30th against the run. Coordinator Paul Guenther left to join Jon Gruden with the Raiders, and Teryl Austin was hired as his replacement. Austin ran a similar defense in Detroit, so Cincinnati won’t have to make a significant change in its schemes.One thing that Austin wants is more turnovers out of his new defense. Bates is known for it. He had nine interceptions as a high school senior, and five – including two for touchdowns – at Wake Forest in 2016. He had one interception last season, when he was in more man-to-man coverage.Bates recalled his interview with the Bengals at the NFL combine Womens Irving Fryar Jersey , which included several math problems as part of the mental drills.”I’m not sure what their philosophy was behind that, but I killed it,” Bates said. ”I don’t know if it was about quick-thinking or what.”The Bengals have acquired three players from within driving distance – two from Ohio State – during the first two days of the draft.They chose Ohio State center Billy Price in the first round on Thursday, a move to fix their biggest problem. The offense finished last in the league last season and has been the main focus of their offseason. Price grew up in eastern Ohio and was hoping to stay in-state in the pros.They hit home with Hubbard, who grew up in Cincinnati and has regularly attended games at Paul Brown Stadium, including the Bengals’ playoff loss to Pittsburgh in 2005 when Carson Palmer tore up his knee on his first pass attempt.Five years ago, Hubbard had committed to playing lacrosse at Notre Dame when Ohio State coach Urban Meyer decided to recruit him. During the process, Lewis happened to be in Columbus talking to Meyer when Hubbard called the Ohio State coach. Meyer put Lewis on the phone, knowing the impact it would make.”That was a great recruiting tool,” Hubbard said.Hubbard didn’t think there was much chance he’d end up playing for his favorite NFL team.”I watched every game the Bengals played,” he said. ”When they were blacked out on Sunday, I was really upset.”— The Green Bay Packers gave up 34 points in Sunday night’s loss at Atlanta.The Cincinnati Bengals have scored nine points while starting the season 0-2.One of these struggling units should be feeling better about things after Sunday’s game at Lambeau Field.More Packers coverageBucks’ Wes Matthews loves Wisconsin, is a Vikings fanPreview: Packers look to slow Vikings’ revitalized run gameTop Tweets: Yelich thanks fans for support after season-ending injuryAmos sparks rebuilt Packers defense in debutPackers to be tested again by familiar foe in Zimmer, VikingsThe Bengals haven’t scored a touchdown in losses to Baltimore and Houston at home. A day after the 13-9 loss to the Texans, longtime coach Marvin Lewis fired offensive coordinator Ken Zampese and replaced him with quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor.“We have to have a direction of execution and things have to fit together and we’ve got to provide opportunity to attack the defense,” Lewis said. “We’ve got to do a great job attacking what is our perceived weakness of the defense and get the ball to our guys who can make plays.”That starts with getting quarterback Andy Dalton back on track. Dalton, who is coming off his two best seasons, with a career-high passer rating of 106.2 in 2015 and a career-high completion rate of 64.7 percent in 2016, owns the worst passer rating in the league at 47.2 and the next-to-worst completion rate at 54.5 percent.Dalton has thrown four interceptions and been sacked eight times behind a shaky offensive line that has struggled to replace left tackle Andrew Whitworth and right guard Kevin Zeitler, who left in free agency.Green Bay’s defense got off to an impressive start vs. Seattle in a 17-9 win to open the season but got exposed, again, in a 34-23 loss at Atlanta. The Packers couldn’t stop Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (252 passing yards Color Rush Hjalte Froholdt Jersey , 108.0 rating), receiver Julio Jones (five catches, 108 yards) or the running game (5.2-yard average).Early in that game, Green Bay inserted cornerback Kevin King, a first-round draft pick, into the lineup and he gave up only one catch.With Lewis looking to get the ball more to his playmakers, King and fellow cornerback Davon House will be tested by star Bengals receiver A.J. Green. Green had 1,000-yard receiving years in each of his first five seasons and would have done it again last year if not for missing six games because of injury. He has caught 10 passes for 141 yards to start this year.While Cincinnati’s offense has been horrible, the defense has played well enough to win both games. The Bengals have given up 20 points or fewer in eight of their last nine, including both games this season.In the opener against Baltimore, Cincinnati lost 20-0 due, in large part, to five giveaways. Last week against Houston, the Bengals gave up only 266 yards, including 98 net passing yards, but lost 13-9.Lewis knows his defense will face a much bigger challenge against Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers than it did last week against rookie Deshaun Watson. Lewis has had some success vs. Rodgers, though. In matchups in 2009 and 2013, Cincinnati won both games and held Rodgers to a passer rating of 73.5.“He’s an outstanding player,” Lewis said of Rodgers. “He has a great command of their offense and what Mike wants done. He knows the system inside and out, knows where everybody belongs (and gets) everybody to the right spots. And then he’s able to just do a great job of delivering the football. And then he extends them with his arms, his legs.“I think the thing we just impress upon our players is this is an all-day sucker, man. We’ve got to play the run Youth Hjalte Froholdt Jersey , we’ve got to tackle and then, when we get in coverage and rush, we’ve got to be consistent and we’ve got to play tenacious and stay after it.”Injuries again will be a factor for the Packers. Seven starters were out by the end of the Atlanta game. Offensive tackles David Bakhtiari (hamstring) and Bryan Bulaga (ankle) were inactive, and receivers Jordy Nelson (quad) and Randall Cobb (chest), House (quad), safety Kentrell Brice (groin) and defensive tackle Mike Daniels (hip) dropped out during the game. Nelson and Bulaga were full participants on Wednesday, but Bakhtiari, Brice, Cobb, Daniels, House and outside linebacker Nick Perry (hand) were among eight players who did not practice.“We expect to play well every time we’re out there,” Rodgers said. “No matter who’s out there, they’re all professionals. There’s an expectation of a style of play and a performance that we all have for ourselves and for each other. So whoever’s out there lining up is going to be expected to play well.”For Cincinnati, tight end Tyler Eifert (back) and right guard Trey Hopkins (knee) were the only starters who did not practice.CINCINNATI (0-2) at GREEN BAY (1-1)Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EDT, CBSOPENING LINE — Packers by 10RECORD VS. SPREAD — Cincinnati 0-2, Green Bay 1-1SERIES RECORD — Bengals lead 7-5LAST MEETING — Bengals beat Packers 34-30, Sept. 22, 2013LAST WEEK — Bengals lost to Texans 13-9; Packers lost to Falcons 34-23AP PRO32 RANKING — Bengals No. 27, Packers No. 7BENGALS OFFENSE — OVERALL (27), RUSH (22), PASS (22)BENGALS DEFENSE — OVERALL (5) Womens Hjalte Froholdt Jersey , RUSH (31), PASS (1)PACKERS OFFENSE — OVERALL (7), RUSH (27), PASS (4)PACKERS DEFENSE — OVERALL (, RUSH (t-20), PASS (9)STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Bengals have won last three meetings. … Each team had four turnovers in last meeting in 2013, including fumble returned for touchdown for each side. … Bengals trying to avoid first 0-3 start since 2008, when they went 4-11-1. They’ve gone 0-3 13 times in club history, failed to have winning record any of those seasons. … Bengals first team since 1939 Eagles to open season with two home games and fail to score TD. They haven’t reached end zone in 25 possessions, settling for three FGs. … Last team to open season with two home games and so few points was 1949 Packers. … Bengals fired Ken Zampese after 13-9 loss to Texans on Thursday and elevated QBs coach Bill Lazor to offensive coordinator. … QB Andy Dalton’s 28.4 passer rating in opening 20-0 loss to Ravens was second lowest of career. He’s thrown four INTs, lost fumble. … Dalton’s 47.2 passer rating is worst in NFL. Browns rookie DeShone Kizer is second lowest at 55.6. Dalton led AFC in passer rating in 2015 at 106.3 … DT Geno Atkins had two sacks vs. Texans. He’s been involved in sack in six straight games, tied for longest streak in Bengals history. It’s longest active streak in NFL. … Packers started week with several key players on injury report, including starting OTs David Bakhtiari (hamstring) and Bryan Bulaga (ankle), WRs Jordy Nelson (quad) and Randall Cobb (shoulder), and DL Mike Daniels (hamstring). … QB Aaron Rodgers reached 300 career TD passes in fewest attempts (4,742) in NFL history. With 73 career interceptions, Rodgers also first to reach 300 passing TDs before throwing 100 interceptions. He passed Tom Brady (115) for fewest at time of reaching 300 passing TDs. … LB Clay Matthews (74 sacks) one sack from passing Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (74.5) for most in franchise history since 1982. … Fantasy Tip: PPR alert! WR-turned-RB Ty Montgomery has been just as effective in short passing game as on ground, including six catches for 75 yards and short shovel pass turned into touchdown last week against Atlanta. He could be more involved in passing game if Packers have more injury-related protection issues.