“Supposedly he was being elbowed in the throat,” family spokesman Quanell X said. “He motioned like this with his arm that he was being elbowed to the throat and said they were kneeing him a lot.”
In a news conference near the site of the arrest, family and friends said Marvin Driver had just dropped off his brother at his mother’s house early Monday morning when Houston police arrested Marvin on outstanding traffic warrants.
“So how can someone have traffic warrants for their arrest and be taken away from here in good health, no restraining whatsoever, then end up like this in intensive care after being in police custody,” community activist Quanell X said, holding up a photo of Marvin on a ventilator.
Despite the tubes, Marvin has been trying to tell his side of the story.
“Marvin Driver writes that they took him, picked him up behind a Valero station by a dark road where he was beaten,” Quanell X said.
Marvin says three Houston police officers — one he says he knew — kicked and beat him, then forced him to swallow a pill.
“Told him to ‘Swallow this, you’re going to see Jesus,” Quanell alleged.
Marvin’s brother Winston says he saw the arrest and says Marvin was not resisting.
“He left here in perfect condition,” says Winston, Donald Driver’s uncle. “I can tell by the police officers, way they were grabbing him, smashing him, that he was in trouble.”
It’s not our place to speculate on what happened here, but this is a strange, unsettling story. And if what the Driver’s are claiming is true, than let’s hope these officers are punished. We’ll have to wait until all the facts come out.
Sunday’s Best:Colts (3-2) at Packers (3-3), 4:15 PM CBS There are some brutal matchups this week, so this one wins by default. The Colts will try to carry the momentum from last weeks blowout win against Baltimore into Green Bay this Sunday, but will be without running back Joseph Addai. Dominic Rhodes gets the start, but head coach Tony Dungy has said that Clifton Dawson and Chad Simpson will see some opportunities as well. Peyton Manning played his most complete game of the season last week and might get the opportunity to exploit a banged up Packers’ secondary if Al Harris (spleen) continues to be hobbled (although word is Harris might play). The Packers meanwhile, have not had much success running the ball this year with Ryan Grant, which is unfortunate given that Indy’s main defensive weakness is stopping the run. If Green Bay can’t get the running game going, they’ll again rely on QB Aaron Rodgers to make big plays to wideouts Greg Jennings and Donald Driver in the passing game. This is a huge game for both teams, especially for the Colts considering they’re currently looking up at the 5-0 Titans in the AFC South.
Upset Watch:Jets (3-2) at Raiders (1-4), 4:15 PM CBS It’s incredibly hard to back the mess that is the Oakland Raiders right now, but they still have a ton of talent on their roster and the Jets have been awfully inconsistent this season. One week they look like playoff contenders and the next they’re getting drummed. Even though they walked away with a victory, New York didn’t play that well against Cincinnati and Brett Favre continues to turn the ball over. The Jets haven’t been able to run the ball successfully of late either, managing just 66 yards per game in the last three weeks. If Oakland is going to pull off a victory in Tom Cable’s home debut, they’ll need to run the ball effectively themselves. Because clearly QB JaMarcus Russell isn’t ready to lead this team on his own yet.
Intriguing Matchup:Cowboys (4-2) at Rams (1-4), 1:00 PM FOX The biggest question on everyone’s minds (especially fantasy owners) is whether QB Tony Romo will play or not. Despite breaking his pinkie finger in the loss to the Cardinals last week, all indications are that Romo will in fact play. He’ll have a new weapon to throw to in Roy Williams, who the team recently acquired from Detroit at the trade deadline. But not only will it be interesting to see how effective Romo can be with a broken finger, it’ll also be intriguing to watch the many personalities the ‘Boys have on offense now that Williams and T.O. have to share looks in the passing game. Dallas has not played well since their Sunday night win against the Packers early in the year and the Rams proved last week in a win over the Redskins that they won’t be pushovers now that Jim Haslett is running things.
Other Notable Games: Saints (3-3) at Panthers (4-2), 1:00 PM ET FOX While everyone is focusing on the East being the best division in the NFC, the South doesn’t have any teams below .500 right now. Some still believe the Saints are the best team in the division and they’ll get the opportunity to prove it this week in Carolina.
Browns (2-3) at Redskins (4-2), 4:15 PM ET CBS What was the bigger fluke from Week 6 – the Browns beating the Giants or the Redskins losing to the Rams?
Titans (5-0) at Chiefs (1-4), 1:00 PM ET CBS The Titans get to put their undefeated record on the line this week in Kansas City and fortunately for them the Larry Johnson-less Chiefs shouldn’t provide much of a challenge.
The 2008 NFL Season is only a quarter of the way finished, but it already looks like it could be one of the craziest years in some time. And as if anyone needed a reason to tune in this year, I’ve gone ahead and listed 32 of them below.
In no particular order:
1. Parity still rules. Who would have thought that the Bills and Titans would have better records at this point than the Colts, Patriots and Jaguars?
2. The Giants. The G-Men are the best team in the league and nobody is talking about them.
3. Aaron Rodgers is holding his own. The Packers have dropped three straight after starting the year 2-0, but that’s hardly Rodgers’ fault. The young man has gone through a lot this year and he continues to impress, including playing with an injured shoulder and throwing nine touchdown passes in five games.
4. The Colts 17-point fourth quarter comeback against the Texans in Week 5.
5. Preseason predictions still mean nothing. There’s no greater feeling than checking out who the pundits predict will be the best teams in the NFL in preseason…then realizing how wrong they were after the first couple weeks of the season.
6. Jason Campbell’s development. People in the know say that it usually takes a quarterback 2-3 years to fully learn the West Coast Offense but so far this year, Campbell has thrown for over 1,000 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions. And oh-by-the-way, he also has the Redskins at 4-1. First-year head coach Jim Zorn has done a remarkable job in Washington so far.
7. The Titans. There’s not a defense in the league that has been more clutch late in games than Tennessee has.
8. Ronnie Brown. No offense to Ricky Williams, but it’s nice to see that the guy who didn’t quit on the game because he wanted more time to smoke weed is having more success than the guy who did.
9. The balance of power is starting to shift between the two conferences. The AFC has long dominated the NFC in terms of teams and quality of play, but so far this year those roles have been reversed. Four of the top five or six teams in the league belong to the NFC.
10. Brett Favre. Through five weeks, no signal caller in the league has a better QB rating than Favre. And his six-touchdown performance against the Cardinals in Week 4 was vintage Brett.
11. Baltimore’s defense. They might be aging unit, but Ray Lewis and Co. can still lay the wood can’t they?
12. Rookie quarterbacks playing well. Matt Ryan just went into Lambeau and knocked off the Packers, while Joe Flacco almost pulled off upsets against top defenses in Pittsburgh and against Tennessee. These first round signal callers have been impressive to say the least.
13. Adrian Peterson. Forget the sophomore slump – the 2007 Offensive Rookie of the Year is proving that he’s no fluke.
14. The Bears finally have a quarterback. Kyle Orton is nowhere close to being the best quarterback in the league, but watch him play – he has a little gunslinger mentality in him. And hey, he’s no Rex Grossman, which is a great thing (just ask Bear fans).
15. Kurt Warner. Some groaned when the veteran unseated youngster Matt Leinart in preseason, but so far head coach Ken Whisenhunt’s decision to go with Warner has paid off.
16. The Dolphins. They might be all hype right now, but who cares? The Fins’ fan base saw only one win last year – let them enjoy the ride.
17. Ben Roethlisberger’s toughness. This is arguably the worst offensive line the Steelers have produced in years, yet Big Ben continues to show how underrated he really is. His performance against Jacksonville in Week 5 was simply amazing.
18. The Bills. It’s easy to pull for a young team and most of their wins this year have been nail bitters. Hopefully QB Trent Edwards is okay from the hit he took against Arizona last Sunday and he’ll get back on the field soon.
19. The young Titans’ secondary. Cortland Finnegan and Michael Griffin share the league lead for interceptions. And they play in the same defensive backfield.
20. Marty Booker’s catch against the Lions.
21. Jay Cutler. The kid is cocky but it’s hard not to like his swagger.
22. Michael Turner’s running style.
23. Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. The Packers’ wideouts are just two example of why teams don’t need to spend first round picks on receivers.
24. Fresh starts in Oakland, Detroit and St. Louis. Yes these three franchises are a mess. But maybe there is a silver lining now that Lane Kiffin, Matt Millen and Scott Linehan all received their walking papers. Maybe…
25. Eli Manning. The former first overall pick is proving that last year’s postseason performance wasn’t a fluke and he really has taken the next step as a NFL quarterback.
26. The Panthers. Jake Delhomme is healthy and playing well again, rookie Jonathan Stewart has been a great complement to DeAngelo Williams and the run defense has been fantastic so far. Carolina is a legitimate contender in the NFC.
27. Monte Kiffin’s defense. The Bucs don’t even rank in the top 10 in any major defensive category except for points allowed, but ask Matt Ryan, Kyle Orton and Aaron Rodgers if they would want to face Kiffin’s unit on a weekly basis.
28. The Patriots are still finding ways to win. It hasn’t been pretty, but Bill Belichick and New England are still finding ways to win despite not having Tom Brady under center. Even after being blown out by Miami at home in Week 3, the Pats are still a team to watch out for in the AFC.
29. Reggie Bush. He might not be able to run consistently between the tackles but he sure as hell can run outside of them.
30. Terrell Owens…when he shuts up and just plays. And Tony Romo…when he can hang on to the football.
31. The Bengals. For providing the casual football fan with plenty of entertainment off the field.
32. Al Davis. For providing the casual football fan with plenty of entertainment off the filed.
Here are a few of my favorite photos from Week 5 action. You can see a full slideshow of larger versions on NFL.com.
I’m not a fan of Randy Moss, but the league is better off when he’s playing his best ball. After Matt Cassel’s first couple of starts, many were wondering if he had the arm strength to hit Moss with the deep ball. I like photos that capture more than just a single play. This one also answers a question that was plaguing the Patriots and their fans.
The Texans/Colts game turned out to be one of the most exciting finishes of the day due in no small part to Reggie Wayne’s terrific one-handed touchdown catch. Wayne is clearly one of the best (and most consistent) wideouts in the game and this photo captures his immense ability.
Sage Rosenfels would probably like to forget Sunday’s game against the Colts. He had a chance to take hold of the starting job in Houston, but he managed to give the game away with two fumbles and an interception in a miserable fourth quarter. This picture captures his boneheaded decision to go airborne as the Texans tried to put the game away.
Throughout his career, Donald Driver has been one of the most consistently underrated wideouts in the game. This catch against the Falcons looked like it was going to be knocked away or even intercepted, but Driver out muscled Erik Coleman for the ball.
The Redskins have been one of the biggest surprises of this young season, and much of their success is due to the steady running of Clinton Portis. His game was on display against the Eagles, as the Redskins utilized his power running as an effective deterrent to the Eagles’ blitz happy defense.
The Packers are now 2-3 and this week’s loss to the Falcons signifies just how far Green Bay has to go. The tackling was sloppy and they hurt themselves with too many mental mistakes and penalties. It’s tough to see my favorite team in this position, but the picture captures the Packers’ current ineptitude.
“Supposedly he was being elbowed in the throat,” family spokesman Quanell X said. “He motioned like this with his arm that he was being elbowed to the throat and said they were kneeing him a lot.”
