Based on what? We'll have neither top line talent nor championship depth in 2017. We'll have a lot of talented players with potential, only a handful of which have proven to be good to very good SEC players to date.
We'll start a new QB, we'll go into the season with no #1 WR (can Jennings be that? To be determined) and virtually no returning WR production beyond Jennings.
Until further notice our OL is still a porous group no matter who we put out there....we have bodies, but no dominant linemen, at all. TE is average at best with Ethan Wolf and nobody behind him has any experience. I think we're good at running back with Kelly, but there's nothing proven behind him...I think Chandler will be special and that CFA can be solid, but neither is "championship depth" at this point to be sure.
And what of the defense? We lose our two best DEs, one of which was a program all-time great, and our best corner off what was the 95th best defense in the country last year....who are the returners this year who are proven "top line" talent and who, at any position, showed last year that they can be "championship depth"? DKJr is arguably our best returning defensive player and he still has much to prove that he's the player we all thought he could be after his freshman season. We're a mess at corner, have questions at safety, will replace our two outstanding DEs with talented potential guys, yet still very unproven. And until proven otherwise, DT is still a huge question mark.......will Tuttle ever be the same/reach his potential after consecutive season-ending injuries, is KMac healthy and/or still a project despite his initial ranking, can Alexis Johnson play, is Kongbo good enough/bought in to play DT? Only Vickers, a solid, yet pretty average, reliable player, can be counted on at this point imo.
We have a great punter, a great kick returner (assuming he comes back fully healthy) but we're below average at placekicker. And then there's Butch Jones, who tends to put the team behind the 8-ball due to his poor game day management.
I know your schtick is to do the whole grandiose, hyperbolic "we're going undefeated and winning everything this year", but please give it a rest. There is at a one time a lot of hope for the new season but also a ton of holes and questions position to position in 2017...... as things stand today, it's not legitimate to suggest or state that this is a championship team, especially with how we saw things play out in 2016, when one could actually make the case it was at least a Divisional "championship team".
