NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Before he finished off a an 8-yard run against the Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota froze veteran linebacker Thomas Davis with a pump fake.

Against the Raiders, he confused D.J. Hayden and slipped by the cornerback by faking a lateral to a well-paced Harry Douglas before continuing the run for 13 yards then actually pitching to Douglas, who went for 8 more.

Mariota is a weapon on the run, and a pump fake or a fake pitch make him even more dangerous.

Titans coach Mike Mularkey said a defender has to at least consider honoring the fake because Mariota has thrown the ball in the situations where he pump fakes on the move before he passes the line of scrimmage.

"If you've seen some of our schemes even going back to last year, he will throw it," Mularkey said. "I mean he has thrown it. We have a pitch relationship in a lot of our plays with guys out there, so he has thrown that. You're in a Catch-22 if you're the defender. It's not good either way."

I suppose Mariota could do it too much, but it’s awfully tempting to ask him to go ahead and try to push that limit. As long as it doesn't affect ball security, it doesn't seem like there is a downside to the pump fake.

"It's more off instinct, I just kind of do it, I don't really plan on doing it," Mariota said. "They just kind of happen. I kind of keep it in my bag of tricks, I guess, and use it when I need it."

Mariota said there are times when he pump fakes and a defender doesn't go for it but couldn't think of a specific instance where doing so had a negative impact on a play.

"I mean if he doesn't jump, you're getting tagged," he said. "It just being able to use it and not use it all the time so guys don't know that you are going to use it."

Titans cornerback Perrish Cox said Mariota has frustrated his own defense with his effective use of the pump fake in practices.

"That's one of the great things that he brings," Cox said. "Him being our quarterback it's kind of exciting seeing him do those type of things. The play that he did make the last game, where he faked the little lateral pass and then threw it? I don’t think I've ever seen a quarterback do that on the field in a game.

"When you are coming down as a defender, you just don't know whether to break down (for a tackle). You've got a receiver running out here to the left, he's got an option to pitch it. It's kind of tough on a defender; you don't know where the ball is.

"I really can’t even tell you how to play it. If you really wanted to, my personal option would be to go and take out the quarterback if he's in the open field, go get it if he wants to set himself up for that."

There is the down side: Mariota could be more susceptible to getting tagged with that big hit if the fake doesn't work. But Mariota's been prudent about sliding and is not unwilling to dip out of bounds.

Whether there is a pump or lateral fake or not, he's got to be wary of being a target who's lost the extra protection that comes from certain places in the pocket once he becomes a runner.