Dolphins at 1-7: Jeff Hafley vows to fix penalties, keeps trade talk private as Miami heads to Indianapolis

Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley opened the week on Monday, Nov. 9, with his team at 1-7, winless in four games at Hard Rock Stadium and one day from the NFL trade deadline. A day after a 19-9 loss to the Detroit Lions, the first-year coach said he was "extremely disappointed with our record and where we're at," pinned much of the defeat on penalties, and declined to say whether general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan expects to make a deal before the 4 p.m. ET deadline on Tuesday, Nov. 10.

"My conversations with Sully will remain private," Hafley said, according to the team's transcript. "And I know you understand why I'm answering you like that."

The trade deadline question

Asked whether the deadline changes how he talks to his players, Hafley kept the same line he has used for weeks. "I love the guys here. I appreciate their effort. I love coaching every one of them," he said. "And those are my conversations with the players."

As of Tuesday morning, the Dolphins had not announced any trade. A Yahoo Sports report by Sportswire Miami on Sunday listed linebacker Jordyn Brooks as the biggest name in Dolphins trade speculation, saying the team reportedly wants a large draft package for him and could keep him if it does not get one. That report also named starting right tackle Austin Jackson as a veteran who may draw interest. Neither the team nor Hafley addressed either player's status.

The Dolphins are rebuilding under Hafley and Sullivan, who were hired in January after the firing of Mike McDaniel. Hafley was previously the Green Bay Packers' defensive coordinator, and Sullivan was the Packers' vice president of player personnel. According to the Yahoo report, Miami is carrying a record $188.8 million in dead salary cap money this season.

What went wrong against Detroit

The Dolphins hung with the Lions, who entered with the NFL's top-ranked offense and have now won four straight. Detroit finished with about 270 yards and one touchdown in four red-zone trips, figures that set or matched season lows for the Lions, according to the Dolphins. Miami sacked Jared Goff three times in the first half, and rookie cornerback Chris Johnson intercepted a tipped pass, only the second pick Goff has thrown this season.

The offense could not cash in. Miami was flagged a season-high 11 times for 87 yards, eight of them against the offense, including five holding calls, according to ESPN. One hold wiped out a completion of more than 50 yards from quarterback Malik Willis to rookie receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. that would have reached the Detroit 19. ESPN calculated that Miami's average distance to a first down on Sunday was 10.9 yards, the highest single-game mark in the league this season. The Dolphins went 0 for 3 in the red zone and missed a 38-yard field goal.

Hafley said Monday the penalties were not one repeated mistake but an accumulation. "We can't make excuses," he said. "We can't have that many penalties. I mean, we're not going to be efficient to play the game that way and we're not going to win if we continue to have penalties like that."

He added that the flags left the offense in "second-and-20 or first-and-20" situations. "We can't play the game like that," he said. "So a lot of it, again, give them credit, but a lot of it was self-inflicted yesterday that we have to be better at."

The Dolphins had committed only 11 penalties combined in Weeks 7 and 8, according to ESPN, which is why Sunday stung.

Malik Willis and the injury list

Willis, the starter, completed 13 of 25 passes for 128 yards and an interception against Detroit while playing through a nagging groin injury that he said was "a little tight," according to The Associated Press. He ran less than usual. Hafley said the protection sometimes broke down and Willis "just didn't have the same speed to escape and run."

Hafley would not say whether Willis might need to sit out practice or a game, explaining that he had not yet met with the medical staff and would update injuries on Wednesday. He said cornerback JuJu Brents, who went to the locker room during the game, was cramping and needed to hydrate. Rookie tight end Will Kacmarek left in the third quarter with a quad injury, according to the AP.

Kicker Zane Gonzalez's job is also under review after his miss before halftime. "We'll continue to have conversations just like Sully and I do every week," Hafley said, adding that the team is constantly looking to improve.

Why Hafley sees progress

Hafley pushed back on the idea that the record tells the whole story. He said it meant a lot to him that Lions coach Dan Campbell compared this Dolphins team to his own first Detroit team, and he described a locker room that has kept coming back after losses.

"I can see the disappointment and the hurt when we lose because it sucks, right?" Hafley said. "I'm not going to sugarcoat that at all." He said the players' "youthful energy" was "inspiring," and that people who study the film understand where the team is heading.

He singled out Johnson, who turned 22 on Monday, saying, "I think the kid's going to be a really, really good player." He also praised rookie receiver Caleb Douglas, who had six catches for 70 yards against Detroit and has 296 receiving yards through five career games, the most by a Dolphins player at that point of a career, according to the team. Hafley said offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor "played a really good game" in his return.

Edge rusher Chop Robinson said the defense played as a complete unit against Detroit and that the wins will come. "Eventually it'll start to click," Robinson said. "Just take it one day at a time, one practice at a time and one game at a time."

The road fans at Hard Rock Stadium

Miami's home losses have come to Kansas City, Cincinnati, New England and Detroit, and a reporter noted Monday that visiting fans have turned out in large numbers, with the stands looking "all blue" for Detroit. Asked if he notices, Hafley was blunt. "I can give you coach talk and tell you that I don't notice it, but I think that's a bunch of BS," he said. "Of course I notice it." He said it does not affect how the team calls a game, and that it will change as the team grows.

What's next

The Dolphins visit the 2-7 Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 1 p.m. ET at Lucas Oil Stadium, on CBS. The Colts have been sellers this fall, trading defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to San Francisco and guard Quenton Nelson to Seattle, according to ESPN. Asked whether games like that one look more winnable, Hafley said, "It's just not how I'm wired."

Here is the next stretch of Miami's schedule, according to ESPN.

Any deadline move would have to be completed by 4 p.m. Tuesday. Injury updates, including Willis' status for Indianapolis, are expected when Hafley meets reporters Wednesday.