Notes: Everson Griffen is still fired up

Earlier in the week, Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer tried to compliment Everson Griffen by saying the defensive end was a “good player” in his ten years with the team. The new member of the Detroit Lions defensive front was displeased by the unenthusiastic phrasing of his former coach’s praise. On Friday, Andrew Krammer from the Star Tribune got back to the man in charge of the Vikings to find out what was going on:

Other NFL athletes who Mike Zimmer has considered to be “good players” when asked:

Linebacker Markus Golden on the Giants, in 2019.

Injured guard Pat Elflein, who the Vikings drafted in the third round in 2017.

Linebacker Anthony Barr on the Vikings, in 2018.

Safety Harrison Smith on the Vikings, in 2016.

It’s pretty clear that Zimmer meant well and “good player” is simply a stock phrase he uses for pretty much anyone he wants to compliment, even for obviously superior players like Harrison Smith. The comment unfortunately only managed to crank the motivation dial to 11 for Griffen.

While we don’t yet know whether Griffen will be annihilating opponents on the level of Khalil Mack as a member of the Lions defense, this whole sequence has added a fun new storyline to be interested in. So, thank you coach Zimmer for your “good” relationship with a “good” player; anything to spice up the rest of this season is much appreciated.

Now, on to the rest of today’s Notes:

• Dave Birkett with the Detroit Free Press believes two defensive linemen must have a good game to stop Vikings running back Dalvin Cook on Sunday. One of those defensive linemen is reportedly a good player.

• Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, former Lions running back Bo Scarbrough will be trying out for the Seattle Seahawks (hat tip to MLive’s Ben Raven and Lions Wire’s Erik Schlitt for spotting this).

• Justin Rogers at the Detroit News wrote about backup quarterback Chase Daniel’s crazy week preparing for the Vikings with starter Matthew Stafford at home away from the team facility.

• According to our friends over at the SBNation Giants site Big Blue View, Former Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate may be a healthy scratch on Sunday as a disciplinary action by the head coach. This week, Tate has been relegated to scout team duty:

• Fearless leader Jeremy Reisman was the featured guest on this week’s episode of SBNation’s Daily Norseman podcast Norse Code.

• Solid work being done here by the people at the Detroit Lions Podcast - continuing through to Saturday morning: