The Sports Xchange

NASHVILLE — The focus shifted lately in the Tennessee Titans camp. All eyes are still on rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota, but after two preseason games, significant attention is on the men up front charged with protecting him.

The Titans offensive line, a concern for a few seasons, has not been up to par since it was anchored by the likes of Kevin Mawae, Michael Roos and David Stewart, who helped Chris Johnson run for more than 2,000 yards in the 2009 season.

But that was then, and this is now a problem the Titans have to get fixed sooner rather than later as the regular season is less than three weeks away.

After the first preseason game, a loss to the Atlanta Falcons, the Titans made two bold moves in hopes of improving the line. The coaches benched left guard Andy Levitre, now three years into a $46.8 million contract and originally believed to be a great addition when he came on board in 2013. He was advertised as the best free-agent guard on the market.

Replacing him after the first preseason game this year was Byron Bell, formerly the right tackle who spent time as a maligned left tackle in Carolina last season.

The next change was to insert rookie Jeremiah Poutasi, a third-round pick being groomed to eventually start anyway, into the right tackle spot.

“You know it’s funny, just like last week when I talked about practice, there were some good things, some bad things,” head coach Ken Whisenhunt said following Sunday night’s win over the Rams. “I don’t think the line played as badly as you guys made it out to be last week and I don’t certainly think that we played maybe as good as we might think they did last night, but they were physical.

“We started the game better and I certainly liked that. When you play a defense like the Rams, one that will give you pressure, that move the front, that penetrate, you’re going to have some fits that aren’t great and we had that last night. There are some technique things that we have to continue to correct, but as a unit I thought they did a good job.”

As the Titans head to Kansas City to face the Chiefs Friday night, the same five players will start on the line and possibly into the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 13.

Whatever combination the Titans go with, an interesting aspect is whether or not Levitre will be with the club going forward.

“I’m on the team, I’d love to stay here,” he said on Tuesday. But the veteran guard declined to elaborate on much else regarding his demotion.

The Titans seem high on young linemen like center Andy Gallik and guard/tackle Will Poehls and might be tempted to keep younger, cheaper backups instead of Levitre, who is set to make $6.5 million in base salary this season.

–Cornerback Jason McCourty underwent groin surgery and could miss the first two games of the regular season while he recovers. McCourty has been out since Aug. 7, a day originally described as a “rest day.” McCourty had a slight tear in his groin near the bone, according to 247Sports.com, and Whisenhunt said it was better for the team and McCourty to have the surgery now rather than let the injury linger any further.

“This was something that we felt like we didn’t want it to nag him the whole season, so at that point, because it wasn’t responding to rehab like we thought that it would be, we felt like it was in the best interest of all of us to go ahead and get it fixed and get it out of the way,” Whisenhunt said.

–While Mariota looks early on to be the real deal at quarterback for the Titans, backup Zach Mettenberger has also been turning heads with his play in the preseason. So much so that there have been comments around the league that quarterback-poor teams (insert likely candidates here) may call the Titans and offer something for the 2014 sixth-round pick, now that Mariota supplanted him.

When Whisenhunt was asked about this buzz in the Monday press conference he dismissed the notion that the Titans would deal the former LSU star. … any time soon, that is. Mettenberger said his focus is on getting better and being with the Titans right now.

“Right now I’m a Titan, and really that’s all I can worry about. I’m looking forward to getting back out at practice and continuing to work on my craft,” Mettenberger said. “I’m in a position to be the backup and that’s my job. I’m worried about making sure Marcus is ready to go each and every week, and if anything happens, I’m ready to go in and have everything operate smoothly. Really, I’m just worried about making myself better when we get back to practice.”

Notes: Linebacker J.R. Tavai (knee) may return in the preseason finale against the Vikings. … Linebacker Yannik Cudjoe-Virgil (hamstring) is still out since suffering the injury in the preseason opener. … Linebacker Zaviar Gooden (hamstring) remains out with an injury from the game against the Falcons. … Wide receiver Andrew Turzilli (ankle) is in a walking boot after being injured against the Rams. … Cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson (high ankle sprain) is improving and could be back in time for the preseason finale against the Vikings. … Tight end Delanie Walker (hand) was held out of the win over the Rams and should make his preseason debut Friday night vs. the Chiefs. … Guard Chance Warmack sat out practice Tuesday after two ingrown toenails were removed.