November 10, 2010

The Great Schilens Debate



As the bye week gets into full effect, the Oakland Raiders are looking to improve on the overall health of the team with many key positions. You have Nnamdi with the ankle, Henderson with the foot, Miller with the foot, and the most anticipated and oft injured Chaz Schilens and the knee, or is it knees? Or is it a foot? Or is it.......oh God I give up.

Lets get into who this notorious WR is that seems to be on the Al Davis scholarship.

Chazeray "Chaz" Schilens  is a 25 year old 6'4", 225 WR, with similar physical stature to Vincent Jackson of the San Diego Super Chokers. Schilens was a seventh-round pick out of San Diego State in 2008. His contract was signed on 7/17/2008 for four-years @ $1.755 million. The deal included a $50,000 signing bonus.
His yearly salary will be 2010: $470,000, 2011: $555,000, 2012: Free Agent.

After being drafted by the Raiders, Schilens played his first game against  the Denver Broncos where he caught two passes for 29 yards. Schilens got his first taste as a starter on October 19, 2009  vs. the New York Jets. In his first year, Schilens played in all 16 games, six of those as a starter. See his 2008 stat line below.

Schilens finally made his 2009 debut in a game against the Chiefs in Week 10 where he had 3 Rec. for 27 yards in a 16-10 loss. Schilens finished out the month of November with 7 Rec. for 100 yards, and bettered in December with 14 Rec. for 166 yards and two touchdowns. In the final game of the 2009 season against the Baltimore Ravens, Schilens hauled in eight passes for 99 yards, a career high, and the Raider Nation fell in love!



Here is his Career stat line:

2008

15 Rec. 226 Yards 2 TD's

2009

29 Rec. 365 Yards 2 TD's

Injuries

On August 18, 2009, Chaz broke the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot in a non-contact drill during an intra squad scrimmage against the 49ers and he subsequently missed half of the ’09 season. Upon his return, he had 29 catches for 365 yards and two touchdowns, but needed another operation after the season to help the foot fully heal.



During the pre season of 2010, the Raiders had high expectations of their wide receiver corps, with a returning Chaz playing the 1, DHB playing the 2 and Louis Murphy at the 3. That was until August of this preseason, when we found out the Schilens injured his foot during practice. When head coach Tom Cable was interviewed about the injury, he said it was that Chaz was just just pushing a little too much and hurt his foot again. They took it easy on him and upon his return to practice and two a days, the injury bug bit again when Chaz injured his knee. Cable said the knee injury was likely a result of overcompensating for the foot injury and he underwent a "minor procedure" to clean up the knee.

After week upon week of pressing questions and the press asking Cable about the injury and rehab, it was finally acknowledged that Chaz Schilens' August knee surgery wasn't just a simple scope as he originally led us to believe.
"I think the procedure that was done was not something real minor or anything like that," said Cable "It was fairly extensive, so it takes time."


Damn I hate a liar.

"He is on the field working now," coach Cable said in a week 5 interview. "There's no running, nothing quick twitch. (We're) just trying to get him back on his feet."
I mean come on, Schilens was only expected to miss 3-6 weeks after undergoing the knee surgery. Can someone say scholarship?



Our Achilles hell this year has been the wide receiver position. DHB sat out of the 3rd scrimmage game with what was called "fatigue" after a promising pre season and has been more then inconsistent during the first 9 games of the season. Louis Murphy has been a little more consistent during the season, but has been slowed by a collar bone injury he sustained against San Diego and a bruised lung that has kept him out since the San Francisco game. Without the unsung hero, Jacoby Ford who singlehandedly willed the Raiders in the win at home against Kansas City, its safe to say this wide receiver corp has been a huge disappointment.


Back to Chaz....what is it about this guy that is so amazing that the Raiders are wasting a roster spot to keep this guy on the payroll? Terrel Owens was available, and we passed. Michael Crayton was available, and went to the Chokers. Hell even Randy Moss was a free agent and we could have placed a waiver claim on him, but we passed.


So I did a little homework and found this highlight video of Chaz. Yes, you heard it right, a highlight video of Chaz.




To be quite honest with you, I am tired of waiting for this guy, as promising as he may be. Let me know what you think. Your comments and opinions are important!



As always, just a


Chaotic View

23 comments:

  1. he is very promising WR put the major issue he doesnt seem to be able to stay healthy

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  2. Chucky said it best on MNF.. "Potential is what you haven't seen." Chaz has potential he just can't stay on the field long enough to show it.

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  3. maybe this is his way of getting a better contract knowing hes better than all the big contract receivers ahead of him?

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  4. He is cheap to keep, great upside.

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  5. As long as he is cheap, ok, but he needs to see the field more. A lot more.

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  6. Definately getting close to moving on time. Lotta hype but still no production. Nice article, well written.

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  7. I'm sure Chaz Schilens wants to play as badly as we all want him to. Every time I have seen him play, I have been extremely impressed with his quick hands, his foot work, speed, and it seems when the ball is in the air anywhere near him....the ball is his. In the NFL..injury is injury. You are going to fault him for that! It isn't as if he went out and campaigned for injuries. What if the Raiders had taken your point of view regarding D McFadden and dumped him because of two years of injury. Consider what that loss would have been. For all you know Chaz Shilens may have been cut from the same cloth as Jerry Rice. At least give him the opportunity to prove himself. He has done pretty well so far.
    Patience...Patience...The Raiders are playing it SMART!

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  8. I haven't given up on him yet. When he's played, he's been the best WR the Raiders have had since Tim Brown. Hands down.

    Unfortunately, he's been hurt so much. I'm just as frustrated as anyone else. But, I've seen him play. He's still the Raiders best WR. He catches the ball better than everyone else on the roster.

    He's the toughest WR on the roster. He works hard after the catch, and isn't afraid to go over the middle.

    He's just been unlucky with injuries. Maybe he's brittle, but he's outstanding when he's on the field. Just imagine how well he could do with a more consistent QB than Russell.

    I'm so excited to see this team get healty over the bye week!!!

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  9. Good article...I think Chaz is a quality receiver and has been hit by the injury bug. If this guy can get healthy and plays along side Louis, Zach, and Jacoby...LOOK OUT!! I think they're all on the right track.

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  10. It is frustrating, seeing him constantly on the sidelines, but you cant deny his impact on the field when he does play. He is our most sure handed receiver on the roster. His salary is very low. Low risk high reward. We sure could use him now!

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  11. Chaz is the big, fast, strong physical wide receiver the Raiders are missing. DHB and Ford are fast, Murphy is strong and physical...Zach Miller has been the big target in the middle of the field but the Raiders offense needs Chaz or a WR like Chaz.

    Here's hoping he is available in Pittsburgh! Next leg injury for him and I think it is pretty clear...he is done. Sad becomes he showed a lot of promise.

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  12. If Bruce and Darren get a pass why not Chaz? Plus we all loved fargas..

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  13. I think the guy has big upside as you have seen when he's on the field he is a threat. It's just getting him on the field past the injuries. Since he's not costing us a lot I don't mind the wait, just don't know how much longer we can wait. I actually was hoping we would have tried for Owens, Crayton not so much and Moss no way plus that tool didn't want to play for us anyways.

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  14. I love Schilens, yea he's been hurt a lot, but we definitely should and will stick with him! I been told folks about him. With that size & speed I call him the next T.O.!!!!

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  15. I LOVE THAT HIGHLIGHT REEL!!!! That's EXACTLY WHY HE'S ON OUR ROSTER!!!!

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  16. Chaz is not an Al Davis scholarship. He is easily the most polished WR on the Raiders' roster. Hopefully he can contribute this season. I'm pretty positive he will be Campbell's new favorite target.

    Your friend,

    Albert Bigelow Paine

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  17. To be perfectly honest if you can make Jamarcus Russell look as good as he did in that highlight reel... I want him on my team.

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  18. very good read and am i tired of waiting for him... no.. hes just there the raiders have the funds to keep him there hes not hurting us on the sidelines and randy moss and T.O are one man bands and so are there attitudes keep them off our team we want players that play together not whine and bitch any time they dont get the ball or dont like somthing theres only room for one head coach.

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  19. Great hands, great speed, great power. I keep Chaz on the roster. He is another that can step up big on any given day, thats what this team is made of.

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  20. I hope there are no injuries after the bye week! We cannot afford to lose more players. I think Chaz just need more quality time on the field and you'll start seeing the beast side of him. As you can see, DMAC has already turned his beast mode on. Since we aquired Campbell, our passing game has improved a lot, but still could use improvement. Ford, Chaz, DHB, Murphy looks like veterans already, but they are still young. Give them all a chance, and you'll see our "Real" passing game.

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  21. Chaz , DHB , Murphy , Ford will make Campbell's passing attempts increase since they will all be beastly in a year or two!

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  22. Hey did anybody leave out some wrs BESIDES DHB , Ford , Schilens , and Murphy? Whay about johnny lee higgins and nick miller PLUS zach miller!

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  23. This guy has the surest hands on the team and he has a rookie 7th round contract. He's not breaking the bank and is reliable when on healthy. ASSUMING he recovers from this last injury and can stay healthy after that, he has the makings of a pro bowl receiver and a late round gem.

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