As he reflected on the incredible effort he made for the Vikings against the Detroit Lions, edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel had a bone to pick.
Though garnered praise from his teammates for his ability to make a tackle for a loss from on his back, Van Ginkel was not too happy with the sequence that resulted in him getting knocked down in the first place.
On the particular snap in question, Van Ginkel was lined up with his hand in the dirt, preparing to rush the passer. As soon as the ball was snapped, Van Ginkel got crushed by receiver Kalif Raymond, who motioned inside, then sprinted full speed ahead to make a block.
The hit immediately knocked Van Ginkel off his feet, and while he was left out of position, he quickly diagnosed what was happening around him and still managed to bring running back Jahmyr Gibbs down in the open field.
“I kind of thought it was a dirty play,” Van Ginkel said. “I’m just going to pass rush and all of a sudden I get whiplash because a guy blindsides me.”
Never mind that the block from Raymond technically wasn’t illegal. That didn’t change the way Van Ginkel felt about it.
“I think that it’s something that the league should look at” Van Ginkel said. “We can’t be doing that.”
Asked if he felt it was a cheap shot in real time or after watching the film, Van Ginkel said he knew right away, then he insinuated that he thinks that type of block should be taken out of the game.
“I had no clue he was there,” Van Ginkel said. “How are we supposed to protect ourselves in those cases?”
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