Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery guaranteed Chicago would win the Super Bowl in 2017, a prediction that was taken seriously enough to land itself in the hands of NFL.com's resident humorist, Dan Hanzus.
But some of his teammates aren't laughing.
On Tuesday, Bears linebacker Lamarr Houston tossed his hat into the ring when asked about Jeffery's comments.
"I liked it. I'm backing him," Houston said on Good Morning Football. "If we do things right as an organization, make the right moves in the offseason, we have the defensive players, we have the defensive potential to play good defense. We have the defensive coordinator, so if everything is handled the way it should be, I think we should be a very good contending team."
The one careless and unfortunate side effect of Jeffery's guarantee was that it inevitably puts all of his teammates into an awkward position. There are really only two options from here on out for a Bears player asked whether or not his team, which finished 3-13 in 2016, will win the Super Bowl in 2017.
The first is to do what Houston did. A sort of middle-ground agreement to show solidarity and confidence. The second is to pull out a milquetoast statement about how the team is just "working every day to get better." My best guess is that Bears players are hoping everyone forgets about this by the time training camp rolls around.
Guarantees are tricky business in today's landscape and end up putting everyone in the wrong. Should we chide a receiver for expecting a trip to the Super Bowl? Shouldn't everyone playing football be so confident?
