Detroit, MI
Roster impact of the Lions agreeing to terms with EDGE Marcus Davenport
The Detroit Lions have reportedly agreed to terms with edge rusher Marcus Davenport on a one-year deal, reuniting him with coach Dan Campbell, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, and linebacker Alex Anzalone from their time in New Orleans.
Let’s take a look at how he fits in with the Lions’ roster and scheme, as well as how his addition will impact Detroit’s offseason plans.
Roster fit
The Lions have retained their top three edge rushers from last season, but with Romeo Okwara and Charles Harris unrestricted free agents (and Julian Okwara already departed), Detroit was in the market for a reliable fourth veteran to step into the rotation.
When examining the Lions’ snap counts from 2023, Aidan Hutchinson logged over 90% of defensive snaps, while John Cominsky and Josh Paschal each saw a bit more than 50% each on the opposite side. On the surface that doesn’t seem like a lot of snaps left over for a fourth edge rusher, but because the Lions reduce their edge rushers inside in obvious pass rushing situations, there’s a need for a fourth option.
Over the first five weeks of 2023, the Lions leaned on Okwara and Harris for around 50 defensive snaps per game, while Paschal was injured. When Paschal returned, the Lions leaned on their EDGE4 and EDGE5 for around 20-25 combined snaps—save in the playoffs, when Okwara took on a larger role (around 30-35 snaps).
In New Orleans, Davenport averaged around 35 defensive snaps per game over his five seasons. Last season, in Minnesota, Davenport only played 118 snaps due to injury, but in the two games he was healthy he played 45 and 52 snaps.
In Detroit, look for Davenport to fill both Okwara and Harris’ roles and absorb their 20-25 snaps per game, while also offering the team insurance to increase the role as an injury replacement or if their scheme adaptations require it.
Scheme fit
Glenn is constantly shifting his approach to defense, and over his three seasons in Detroit, he has altered his style multiple times changing fronts in the middle of each season. We have seen Glenn deploy 1-gap, 2-gap, gap-and-a-half, concepts from 3-, 4- and 5-man fronts, constantly adapting to the strengths of the players who are performing well. But in order to stay flexible and adaptive, you also need to roster players who can adapt along with Glenn.
While adaptive players are a necessity, there are also a few staples—derived from Glenn’s days in New Orleans—that are required for each position group. For edge rushers who play on every down, they need to be able to set the edge and be able to shift around the front—preferably with the ability to reduce inside on pass rushing downs.
For Davenport, his five seasons with the Saints—three of which crossover with Glenn—will have him very prepared to step right into the Lions’ defensive front.
Davenport has spent most of his career rushing from the right side—which complements the Lions’ preference to play Hutchinson on the left—where he rushes from a standing position. He is capable of rushing with his hand in the dirt, but he attacks much quicker and with more explosive power from a standing position. While he spends most of his time on the outside, we’ve seen him move inside and look very comfortable attacking guards, even producing one of his sacks in 2024 from this spot.
Offseason impact
The Lions should feel comfortable with their main four edge players (Hutchinson, Cominsky, Paschal, and Davenport). With James Houston (who is an ERFA) also expected to be back, they have a nice base of players.
The biggest concerns for the group will be injuries and expiring contracts. Davenport has missed multiple games due to injury in each season he has played, and Paschal has missed five games in each of the past two seasons. Additionally, Davenport’s deal is only for one year and Cominsky is in the final year of his contract, indicating there is also a long-term need at the position the Lions need to consider.
Therefore, with these concerns looming, the Lions would be wise to consider adding more depth in free agency or the NFL Draft. Because the Lions operate with a “best player available” draft philosophy, it’s possible the Lions could draft an edge player early. But by adding Davenport to the roster, it gives Detroit the flexibility that they won’t feel pressed to reach for a player and can play the board looking for value.
DETROIT ― The crowd wasn’t large ― a smattering of about 40 or so people at Detroit’s historic Palmer Park just north of downtown on a warm and muggy summer evening.
The people who did show up were there because they feared something precious could be lost: the relationships between therapists and the people who trust them with their deepest wounds.
This is what democracy often looks like. A tent. Some speakers. Livestreaming on social media. And waning sunlight seemingly trying to figure out whether to set in fiery red-orange or fade behind rainclouds.
It was my pleasure to witness this moment firsthand because we live in a new era ― a period when the most powerful leaders in our government increasingly move to trample on our First Amendment rights. This was the second time within the past 30 days that I have found myself covering the debate surrounding Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s planned reimbursement policy changes affecting limited licensed mental health clinicians.
I’ve written previously about the policy itself. This time, though, something else captured my attention.
It was the people.
Last Friday night’s rally was organized by Caitlin Fleming, a mental health therapist and co-founder of Healer’s Choice, who demonstrated the kind of leadership that rarely makes headlines but often changes communities. She listened as much as she spoke. She created space for others to tell their stories. She reminded those gathered that advocacy is less about anger and more about refusing to become invisible.
At one point, Fleming shared that she lost her former husband to suicide.
Her words carried weight, especially because only days earlier I had written about losing my aunt Geraldine and how grief leaves permanent marks on those left behind. Mental illness, suicide and trauma are not abstract policy debates. Nearly every family carries a story. Every interruption in care has a human face.
That reality echoed through the entire evening.
Mars DeWitt, a limited licensed clinician who previously worked as a teacher, reminded us that change has happened before in Detroit. After addressing the audience, DeWitt told me that they watched the fight for teacher pay, recalling Detroit educators’ successful efforts to improve salaries. “So, I know it’s possible for therapists to fight back in a similar way.… Detroit is one of those inspiring cities in the world because we know how to fight back.”
Their words were less criticism than a declaration of home.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, connected the issue to another community she knows well: veterans.
“Every interruption in treatment increases the risk that a patient, including veterans, falls through the cracks,” she said. “Our veterans should not have to retell their trauma, rebuild our trust or start the therapeutic process from the beginning due to an insurance billing policy.”
Jess Riley of the National Association of Social Workers-Michigan added sobering context. Twenty-five Michigan counties have no psychiatrists. Ten neither have a psychiatrist or psychologist. The Upper Peninsula has no child psychiatrists and no pediatric psychiatric beds.
Whatever one’s position on reimbursement policy, those numbers reveal a behavioral work force already stretched dangerously thin.
Fleming also reminded the audience that communities of color are especially vulnerable to changes in insurance coverage policy because they understand what generational trauma in health care looks like. She cited historical abuses such as the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis. She emphasized that clinical supervision should not be a sign that therapists are somehow viewed as inadequate.
“We want people to be supervised not because they are not quality therapists; it’s the human experience. We should always be working in teams.
Notably, Fleming said Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has not publicly released data estimating how many patients may lose access to their current therapists under the proposed policy. She said representatives from BCBS Michigan were invited to the forum but did not participate.
Regardless of where this debate ultimately ends, something encouraging happened last Friday evening.
Citizens assembled peacefully. They exercised their First Amendment rights. They shared data, personal stories and deeply held convictions. They urged elected officials to listen. They asked a powerful institution to explain itself.
That is not something to fear.
It is something to celebrate.
That’s because healthy democracies depend on citizens who care enough to show up – even if there are only 40 of them standing together in a Detroit park at the end of a long week, refusing to believe their voices don’t matter.
Byron McCauley is a regional columnist for USA Today Co. in Michigan. Email: bmccauley@usatodayco.com; call (513) 504-8915.
(WXYZ) — The highly-anticipated premiere of “The Odyssey” is officially here, with showtimes starting Thursday across metro Detroit.
The epic, directed by Christopher Nolan, was shot entirely with IMAX cameras, the first film to be shot with them. It will be available to watch in a variety of formats in the area and across the state.
On the website for the film, it lists all of the premium format options and where you can find them. Check out the details below.
IMAX 70mm
This is the premiere format to watch the film, presented in IMAX’s 1.43:1 expanded aspect ratio, according to the website.
“It is the largest and highest-resolution format available and gives you an unparalleled sense of immersion as the image fills IMAX’s signature floor-to-ceiling screen,” the website reads.
Across the country, there are only a 30 theatres that are capable of playing IMAX 70mm, and only one in Michigan. To see the film in that format, you’ll have to go to Celebration! Cinema in Grand Rapids.
IMAX
As we’ve said, “The Odyssey” is the first feature film shot entirely on IMAX cameras. “The film was shot and designed to be experienced on the biggest screen possible, and IMAX delivers on this,” star Anne Hathaway said.
It comes in the 1.90:1 expanded aspect ratio, filling your entire field of vision.
There are several theatres showing the film in IMAX in metro Detroit. They are:
- MJR Southgate
- MJR Troy
- AMC Forum 17 in Sterling Heights
- AMC Livonia 20
- AMC Star Great Lakes
- Cinemark Ann Arbor
70mm
The 70mm film is a large format that “offers a bright, clear image up to 3 times the resolution of standard digital projection formats,” according to the website. It’s shown at a 2.20:1 aspect ratio.
In metro Detroit, there are three theatres showing it in 70mm. They are:
- MJR Southgate
- AMC Forum 17 in Sterling Heights
- AMC Livonia 20
35mm
35mm is the classic film format shown at a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. “It projects light through the entire 35 millimeter frame to deliver clear, high resolution images with rich analog color,” the website reads.
Only the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor is showing the film in 35mm.
Dolby Vision
According to the film’s website, The Dolby Vision projection system has a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.
“Dolby Vision allows you to experience every detail and nuance captured by the large format film cameras Christopher Nolan used in production,” the website reads.
You can see the film in Dolby Vision at AMC in Clinton Township, Sterling Heights and Great Lakes.
Premium Large Format
The premium large format movie will be in either 2.39:1 or 1.85:1 aspect ratio, depending on the theatre. “It features larger wall-to-wall screens, superior projection technology, including laser projection,” the website reads.
Here are places you can see “The Odyssey” in Premium Large Format.
- MJR Southgate
- Emagine Royal Oak
- Cinemark in Taylor
- MJR in Sterling Heights
- Emagine Woodhaven
- MJR Westland
- The Riviera in Farmington
- Emagine Canton
- MJR Partridge Creek
- Emagine Rochester Hills
- Emagine Macomb
- Emagine Novi
- MJR Chesterfield
MJR Waterford - Phoenix Theatres in Monroe
- Emagine Saline
- MJR Brighton
- Emagine Hartland
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