FOXBORO — No one is saying which end of the offensive line Sebastian Vollmer will play on against Tennessee this Sunday, but the rookie will almost certainly be making the first start of his career.

With Matt Light dealing with a right-knee injury suffered last week in Denver, there are just two healthy offensive tackles on the Patriots' roster: Vollmer and Nick Kaczur, the starting right tackle.

It is possible that Kaczur will flip to the left side with Vollmer getting the nod at right tackle, but generally Bill Belichick prefers to have players stay in the positions they know best, filling one hole rather than moving multiple players.

A native of Germany who has impressed since training camp, Vollmer is as quick and agile a player as could be for someone listed at 6-foot-8, 315 pounds. He has worked at both tackle spots since coming to New England, and did step in on Tom Brady's blindside when Light limped off the field last Sunday.

"You just have to prepare and do the best you can in practice," Vollmer said. "I don't know (if he'll play left or right); that's for the coaches to determine. I just try to do my best."

Before playing the fourth quarter against the Broncos, Vollmer had been on the field for a few snaps this season, when New England used a jumbo package with Light as a tight end.

A second-round pick out of the University of Houston, Vollmer feels that experience, no matter how limited, has helped, as he got a taste of the speed of games.

Belichick spoke Vollmer's praises when asked how he's performed to this point.

"He's an athletic kid with a real big frame, tall, long arms, strong, and he's done a good job for us on both the left side and the right side," Belichick said. "If Vollmer has to play, he's shown that he can play both sides, as has Nick. If that's the way it goes, then we will try to figure out what the best combination is there.

"But for a rookie, he has shown a lot of positive things … he still has a long way to go, but considering everything, he is probably a lot further along than maybe what we thought he would be when he first got here. He's worked hard and he's continued to improve."

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Despite the fact that the Titans are giving up a league-worst 288 passing yards per game, and despite the fact that they are allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete over 70 percent of their passes, no one is willing to say that Tennessee's defense is suffering by not having Albert Haynesworth wreaking havoc and pushing around offensive linemen.

"I don't believe it's been the fact that Albert's not here," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said Wednesday. "We're still getting pressure, we're still handing the run, and we've got a good rotation (of players) going inside. Yes, you're going to miss good players like Albert, but we've got a good rotation of players inside, so I wouldn't attribute it to the fact that he's not here. It's been an unfortunate combination of things."

Belichick gave a great deal of credit to the defensive linemen as well.

"Their front's pretty good; nobody has really run the ball on them. They've knocked the passer down a lot. They're pretty good in there, and it doesn't really matter who they put in there," he said. "They put a lot of pressure in the pocket; they put a lot of pressure on the running game." While Tennessee is still doing well against the run, averaging 75.4 yards a game and under three yards per carry, it has struggled against the pass. That is affected by a spate of injuries that have affected the secondary, but also the pass rush could play a role: without the heavy pressure Haynesworth had a hand in, the Titans' corners and safeties have to cover too long and can be exposed.

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There were four players who did not participate in Wednesday's practice for the Patriots: Randy Moss, Ty Warren, Light and Fred Taylor.

Moss also did not practice Oct. 7, and in both cases, the team has said his absence was "not injury related." The receiver was in the locker room when reporters showed up. It is possible the team is trying to keep Moss fresh, as his back pain could be lingering.

Warren was listed as having a calf injury, and his snaps have gone down the last two weeks; Light still had crutches at his locker for his right knee, and Taylor is recovering from ankle surgery last week.

Jarvis Green (knee), Kaczur (ankle), Jerod Mayo (knee), James Sanders (shoulder), Shawn Springs (knee), Benjamin Watson (head), Wes Welker (knee) and Vince Wilfork (ankle) were all limited in practice.

For the Titans, three-fourths of their starting secondary did not practice: corners Cortland Finnegan and Nick Harper and safety Michael Griffin.

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To make room for Junior Seau on the roster, the Patriots released Terdell Sands. The massive veteran defensive lineman was signed two weeks ago, and had played against Baltimore just days after signing with the team; he was inactive against Denver … Titans longtime assistant head coach/strength and conditioning Steve Watterson is a native of Newport and earned his bachelor's degree at URI. In the newest issue of Sports Illustrated, the weekly player's poll has peers selecting Welker as the most underrated player in the NFL. Welker received 7 percent of the seven percent the vote, while New Orleans QB Drew Brees got 5 percent.

smanza@projo.com