Titans won't be taking it easy during the bye week

Had the Titans defeated Washington and Houston over the past two weekends, Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt wouldn't have made them practice at all during the bye week.

But since they failed to win either game, they'll be practicing Tuesday and Wednesday before the CBA-mandated days off begin on Thursday. The Titans will then return to practice on Monday to prepare for the game in Baltimore.

Whisenhunt said the next few practices will prioritize third-down situations and red-zone situations. The Titans are last in the league in offensive third-down conversions and 19th in the league in scoring touchdowns when inside the opponents' 20-yard line.

"We're going to narrow down some of the plays we have and get more reps out of them," Whisenhunt said. "We can process the reads and be more detailed on what we're trying to accomplish with those routes. Regardless of what coverage we see, it's good work because we get a chance to get the sense of timing and going through the progression of reads."

Whisenhunt feels the practices should benefit rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger, who made his first NFL start in Sunday's loss to Houston.

"We want to get Zach as many reps as we possibly can," Whisenhunt said. "I think in a competitive situation, which (practices) will be (Tuesday) and Wednesday, those will be good reps."