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Verner, who is expected to start Sunday against the Denver Broncos (1-2), said Wednesday that he hates that McCourty got injured, but he has been preparing for anything since his fourth-round selection by the Titans in April.
"It's definitely unfortunate, especially how J-Mac was progressing and was a dynamic player," Verner said.
McCourty recorded his first career interception against the Giants when he gathered an ill-advised left-handed flip pass from Eli Manning that Will Witherspoon deflected. McCourty, a second-year pro, didn't know on which play his injury occurred, but he missed the second half.
He had a cast on his right hand and forearm Wednesday but said he was not in much pain. He didn't say much about the procedure he underwent, just that doctors told him he "should be able to play soon."
McCourty started three consecutive games — at Jacksonville, vs. Indianapolis and at New England — in 2009 after the Titans' secondary suffered multiple injuries and won the starting role in training camp this year. He recorded 17 tackles and defended four passes in Tennessee's first three games this season. Verner has recorded four tackles and defended a pass and has seven special teams tackles this season.
Denver's offense has produced 1,078 passing yards this season, and Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton has completed an NFL-best 13 passes of more than 25 yards this season.
Verner said he can't worry too much about the deep ball because it's a low percentage play. He said he is working on intermediate routes, and situational things.
"Worrying about the deep ball is going to take you out of your game," Verner said. "You can't put too much emphasis on the deep ball."
Manning completed 34 of 48 passes for 386 yards against Tennessee (2-1), but the Titans held the Giants to 10 points. Tennessee is allowing 14 points per game, and has allowed just one rushing and one passing touchdown this season.
Veteran safety Chris Hope said Verner, McCourty and second-year cornerback Ryan Mouton were able to get necessary reps while cornerback Cortland Finnegan recovered from an injury during training camp.
Hope said the team believes that Verner will be able to deliver.
"I'm not going to say he's peaked out or he knows everything about being a starter, but he's very confident and we're confident in him," Hope said.
Orton and second-year Denver coach Josh McDaniels said the Broncos would aim to run their offense as best as they can as opposed to specifically targeting Verner, even though they are aware he has much less experience than Finnegan.
"You certainly know who's out there on both sides, and we have a great deal of respect for Finnegan," McDaniels said. "He's been to the Pro Bowl. He's certainly deserving of all the accolades and respect that he gets, but it's still a game where we feel like we have good players on both sides. We're going to try to run our offense the best that we can without getting caught up or certainly overdoing it."
McDaniels said the Broncos had Verner "high on our list" when the Titans drafted him.
"We have a great deal of respect for him even though it will be his first start," McDaniels said. "He's definitely shown he belongs in the NFL."
Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher said the Broncos offense "is going to challenge our entire defense."
Hope said the squad is ready and is still motivated by the memory of last season's 0-6 start.
"We had a very humbling experience last year of being highly talented, having high expectations, and as a group, not living up to those expectations," Hope said. "We came back humbled, excited to get back to work. We feed off each other's intensity and challenge each other and hold each other accountable, no matter who's in."
