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Lions special teams coordinator Danny Crossman talks about rough start to season

The Detroit Lions are a disappointing 1-3 entering their Week 5 bye, and the play of Detroit's special teams unit has been a big part of the early season struggles.

Don McPeak-US PRESSWIRE - Presswire

The Detroit Lions are a disappointing 1-3 entering their Week 5 bye, placing them in the cellar of the NFC North. The Lions have lost three games in a row since opening the season with a four-point win against St. Louis. The play of Detroit's special teams unit is a big part of the early season struggles, according to special teams coordinator Danny Crossman, via Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press:

"I know that I have to get it done, whether it's personnel, whether it's what we're doing, how we're doing it.

"I'm a teacher. If you're a teacher, and half the kids are flunking your exams, you've got to find a way to teach the kids better. They're your kids. Teach them better. Find a way to get it done, and that's what I'm going to do."

Crossman's unit allowed both a punt and kick return for touchdowns in consecutive games, becoming the first team since at least 1940 to do so, in back-to-back losses to the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings. Prior to coming to Detroit, Crossman held the same position with the Carolina Panthers and the Big Ten's Michigan State Spartans.

After this weekend's bye, Detroit will head to Philadelphia to take on Michael Vick and the Eagles. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, with the game televised on FOX.