ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) - When Chaz Schilens went down in training camp with a broken left foot, the Oakland Raiders passing game never recovered.
With JaMarcus Russell's most-trusted wideout on the sideline for the first six games of the season, the Raiders struggled to move the ball consistently and have the second fewest points in the NFL.
So that's why there's so much excitement around the Raiders about Schilens' return.
The team even sent out a news release Tuesday titled "Schilens Returns to Action for Raiders," a day after coach Tom Cable made that same announcement.
That's quite a lot of hype for a second-year player with only 15 career catches. Schilens realizes the responsibility the team has placed on him and welcomes the pressure.
"I feel if they're going to put me out there, it's my job to go out there and make plays," Schilens said Wednesday. "I've always said that. If they're putting me out there they have confidence in me, and I'm not going to go out there and not do my job. I need to go out there and make some plays and help the team win."
While saying Schilens' absence was "huge," Cable also tried to downplay the impact of his return by calling him "one piece" of the offense. Cable said he would decide Saturday whether Schilens will start Sunday for Oakland (2-4) against the New York Jets.
Schilens broke a bone in his left foot while running a route during a joint practice with the San Francisco 49ers on Aug. 18. He originally hoped to be back for the second game of the season. But the bone took longer to heal and Schilens didn't even return to the practice field until last week.
"There was a little time when it was rough, especially with how the team was doing, but I just tried to stay positive and help out any way I could," he said. "It feels good be back now, and now it's time to get back on track."
In his absence, the Raiders have managed only 62 points in 10 games and went four straight games with less than 200 yards of offense for the first time in franchise history.
With a pair of rookies starting at wide receiver in Darrius Heyward-Bey and Louis Murphy, Oakland has completed only 19 passes for 264 yards and one touchdown to the wideouts. There are 38 individual receivers in the NFL with more catches this season and 36 with more yards, which is why Schilens is needed so badly.
"It's going to help this whole offense," Heyward-Bey said. "Just somebody else the defense has to worry about."
Schilens, a seventh-round pick out of San Diego State a year ago, played in all 16 games as a rookie. He had only 15 catches for 226 yards and two touchdowns, but made a big impact late in the season. He had six catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns in wins the final two weeks against Houston and Tampa Bay and carried that over throughout the offseason.
Schilens was the best receiver in training camp and had five catches in his only exhibition game appearance against Dallas before the injury.
He sees opportunities for Oakland to succeed in the passing game with opponents focusing so much on stopping the run.
"They don't respect us, our pass game, they don't respect us very much, and we've got to earn that respect back," Schilens said. "We were in the preseason, but we've got to get that back. ... They're challenging us on the outside. Got to take advantage of it."
The Raiders haven't taken advantage of those opportunities so far this season. Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft, has just two catches all season.
The decision to draft the speedy Heyward-Bey ahead of Michael Crabtree was questioned on draft day. The skeptics have only gotten louder with the way Heyward-Bey's rookie season has started.
With Crabtree set to make his debut for San Francisco this week after a lengthy holdout, the inevitable comparisons will soon follow.
"I'm aware of it, but I don't care about it," Heyward-Bey said. "I can't sit there and worry about what people are going to write about comparing. I need to worry about what the Raiders are doing here, how we're going to win this division, how we're going to go to the playoffs, how we're going to reach our goals. So I can't worry about if I'm compared to somebody else. If I sit there and worry about that, I'm not worried about the right things."
NOTES: RG Cooper Carlisle was limited in practice with an ankle injury. The Raiders are already without two starting offensive linemen - RT Cornell Green and LG Robert Gallery - and will take it easy on Carlisle during the week to make sure he can play Sunday. ... CB Nnamdi Asomugha returned to practice after missing most of Sunday's game when he got poked in the eye. He wore a protective shield in practice.