Should we adjust our expectations for Aidan Chiles?

One of the biggest talking points I’ve seen after Michigan State’s disappointing 16-10 win over Florida Atlantic was that quarterback Aidan Chiles did not live up to the hype.

There’s no denying that was the case Friday night, but I also think people are overreacting.

Is there a little cause for concern? I guess. But I saw a lot of things that really excite me about Chiles’ play and the things he struggled with are easy to fix.

Let’s discuss the positives first.

Chiles puts some major zip on the ball when he’s throwing. I don’t think we’ve ever seen a Michigan State quarterback with that much arm strength, and he’s only 18 years old. So that tells me he’s able to fit the ball into small windows, which we did see a little of on Friday.

Chiles also showed that he can not just be effective with his feet, but elite. He scored the Spartans' first touchdown of the season on the ground, but it was a play a little later that was more impressive. It was third-and-long and FAU brought heavy pressure. Chiles spun out of that pressure like he was Johnny Manziel, escaping out of what looked to be a guaranteed sack and turning it into a positive play. He, unfortunately, came up just short of a first down, but you can’t teach escape ability like that/

But the thing that was the best to see was how he took accountability for his play after the game. Chiles did what any good leader does and took full responsibility for his poor performance on Friday, and that tells me he’s going to do everything he can do to bounce back next week.

Now let’s talk about the bad and why we shouldn’t worry too much.

The things Chiles and the offense did struggle with in my opinion are easy to fix.

First you have the two interceptions, but let’s be honest, the first wasn't Chiles’ fault at all and I’m still not convinced the refs should have overturned it. But the second interception was a very simple mistake. Chiles will watch it back and see that he stared his receiver down the entire play which made it easy for the defender to pick him off. That’s a very easy adjustment to make for Chiles.

There also were a few instances where he and his receivers just weren’t on the same page. Two times Chiles was rolling to his right and expected his receiver to stop in the gap of the zone. That’s where he threw the ball but the receiver kept running his route. There also was a deep ball that Chiles threw more to the sideline while his receiver cut more into the middle of the field. Both of these scenarios will be resolved pretty quickly with more reps between Chiles and his receivers.

So while there is a lot to be worried about after this game, in my opinion Chiles isn’t one of them. I have full faith he’ll bounce back and wouldn’t be surprised to see him dominate at Maryland next week.