By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Throughout the 2017 NFL season, many have had fun revisiting Alshon Jeffery's December 2016 quote, where he said "I guarantee you we’ll win a Super Bowl next year.”
Jeffery, of course, said that after what turned out to be his final game as a member of the Chicago Bears. It's simply a coincidence that he joined the Philadelphia Eagles in the offseason and the team is now 60 minutes away from proving that guarantee true.
However, Jeffery made sure Friday that he's on the record – he doesn't have a doubt the Eagles will defeat the New England Patriots and win Super Bowl LII.
"We’re bringing that trophy back to Philly," Jeffery told the collective media, which included Martin Frank of Delaware Online.
Though some have labeled this as potential "bulletin board material," and the Patriots may view it as such, this exchange began when a reporter crafted a question around the premise of what Jeffery and his teammates would do if they became the first Eagles team to win a Super Bowl title. Jeffery, like just about any athlete on the cusp of winning a title would be, wasn't thrilled with the idea of "if."
"Ain’t no ‘if,’ man," Jeffery said of the Eagles chances of winning Super Bowl LII. "When we win on Sunday, ain’t no telling what we’re going to do. But we’re probably going to celebrate, have some fun."
Some will suggest that Jeffery simply should have gone along with the premise of the question, rather than publicly making these statements. Others will say that if Jeffery, one of the team's stars, doesn't have this type of confidence heading into the Super Bowl, the Eagles are in big trouble.
Of course, the last Eagles wide receiver to be outspoken in the week leading up to the Super Bowl, Freddie Mitchell, didn't fare well, as he caught just one pass in the Eagles 24-21 loss to Tom Brady/Bill Belichick-led Patriots. This has a different feeling to it. Let's start with the obvious, Jeffery is one of the more physically gifted receivers in the league, while Mitchell was a loud, largely unproductive player that only lasted four years in the NFL. Secondly, in what was a largely quiet week in terms of explosive headlines, Jeffery didn't go out of his way to make these remarks early in the week, he simply said them when asked.
After spending the first five seasons of his career with the Chicago Bears, Jeffery joined the Eagles on a one-year/$14 million contract this past offseason. In the midst of what turned out to be a nine-touchdown season, Jeffery agreed to a four-year/$52 million extension to remain with the Eagles past 2017. The 27-year-old had two touchdowns in the Eagles NFC Championship Game victory over the Minnesota Vikings, including a 53-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.
