Sunday open thread: How many sacks will Everson Griffen have against the Vikings?

No one is more fired up for today’s Lions-Vikings matchup than Everson Griffen. When asked about Griffen returning to Minnesota after spending 10 years there as a player, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said, “Everson was a good player for us. I wish him well, just not this week.” Griffen took exception to this comment and had some choice words in response.

“I’m just a good player? Alright, he’s got a good player coming his way. He’s going to see on Sunday what he got coming for him.”

“They’re going to put some respect on my name. He’s going to put some respect on my name.”

Griffen’s had this game circled on his calendar ever since he left Minnesota to come to Detroit. The game is obviously personal to him, and this past week has intensified things even more. I’d expect him to come out and empty the tank against the Vikings, giving it everything he’s got. We’ll see if that’s enough.

This leads us to today’s Question of the Day...

How many sacks will Everson Griffen get against the Vikings?

My answer: Coming into today’s game, FootballOutsiders have the Vikings rated as the 27th best pass blocking offensive line. That’s obviously not very good, but despite giving up plenty of pressure, they’ve only allowed a total of 15 sacks on the year, which is about middle of the pack. That’s just a shade over two sacks a game.

I think the Lions will put a decent amount of pressure on Kirk Cousins, but they may not come away with a ton of sacks. For Everson Griffen in particular, I do think he has a big game. If I had to give it a number, I’d say he ends the day with just one sack and a handful of pressures.

Side note: Nothing would please me more than to see Griffen tally three or more sacks, followed up by a Zimmer soundbite saying Griffen had a “good” game, ultimately setting up the grudge match in January for the regular season finale.

Your turn.