Throughout Everson Griffen’s career in Minnesota, he found several ways to motivate himself. As he prepares to square off against the Vikings on Sunday afternoon, Griffen has found his target as he prepares to make his debut for the Detroit Lions…Mike Zimmer.
Zimmer spoke to reporters on Thursday about Griffen’s return to Minnesota. The Lions defensive end spent 10 seasons with the Vikings and six seasons with Zimmer and the Vikings’ coach had kind words for Griffen ahead of the matchup.
“Everson was a good player for us,” Zimmer said. “I wish him well. Just not this week.”
The comments were not good enough for Griffen as he took his turn at the podium in Detroit.
Everson Griffen calls out Mike Zimmer. He’s going to dominate this weekend #OnePride pic.twitter.com/5UYYjw8S4A
— LionsFanReport (@lionsfanreport) November 5, 2020
“Coach Zimmer wasn’t just a good coach to me,” Griffen said. “He was a great coach. For him to call me a good player, that kind of hurts my feelings. So on Sunday, I’m really looking forward to playing the Vikings and showing them that I am a great player.”
Griffen continued Thursday night on Twitter, where he seemed to make the difference between “good” and “great” a rallying cry heading into Sunday’s game.
REMEMBER this one thing. I play this game of football because I love it. Not because I need it. We GREAT over here. Stay sleep I like it.
— Everson Griffen (@EversonGriffen) November 5, 2020
Looking at Griffen’s career in Minnesota, he has a point. Griffen officially ranks fourth all-time in franchise history with 74.5 sacks and was a mainstay on the defensive side for a decade.
Although the 2-5 Vikings have some momentum heading into Sunday’s game after a win at Green Bay, Griffen could play the role of spoiler for a team looking to fight their way back into the playoff picture.
