The numbers don’t lie -- the Patriots defense is in trouble.

But according to many people around the league, it’s not too late to change things. With nine games left in the regular season, despite all the troubling trends, New England is still considered an elite team. And these people believe that there’s been more than enough positives on defense (red zone and big plays were both defended well against the Steelers) that despite some questionable personnel decisions, the New England defense could eventually turn things around.

To that end, we reached out to people around the league in hopes of gaining some insight into how the Patriots might stop their defensive skid, and they came to a consensus on a three-point plan that could turn things around:

Get Albert Haynesworth healthy: The Patriots have been sporadic in their ability to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks. It hasn’t been perfect -- New England has 15 sacks this season, tied for 22nd in the league -- but better than the last two years. Through seven games, opposing quarterbacks have dropped back to pass 285 times and been hit by a Patriots defender 31 times.

This season, the Patriots pass rush has been at its best when it's had a healthy Albert Haynesworth in the lineup. Haynesworth’s presence has demanded double and triple teams, freeing things up for the likes of Andre Carter to get after the quarterback. Graded as New England’s No. 1 pass rusher by Pro Football Focus (PFF has him at +3.9 for the season), he’s tied for fourth on the team with eight quarterback pressures. However, Haynesworth has only played 123 of a possible 494 defensive snaps this season because of a back injury, and his health remains a question.

If Haynesworth is on the field, the Patriots have proven they can rush four and get sustained pressure on opposing quarterbacks with their front. If he’s not out there, the Patriots struggle to get consistent pressure on the quarterback, bringing up a defensive quandary for New England: If the Patriots are to get more pressure on the quarterback without Haynesworth, they are going to have to blitz more than they do. But if they blitz more often, they’re more likely to expose a young secondary.

“Ultimately, they need the ability to rush four and still get the ball to come out,” said one former NFL player who has watched a lot of the Patriots this season.

More zone coverage: Through seven games last season, the Patriots defense had started to emerge as a takeaway machine: The Pats already were at +7 on the way to a +28 differential, a franchise record, the second-best total since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger and the best figure in the league by 11 full turnovers. This season, the Pats have had some success -- they’re currently sitting at +2 -- but they’re nowhere near where they were last season.

As we saw last year, pressure on the quarterback and turnovers aren’t necessarily related -- the Patriots picked up turnovers by the boatload last season but were unable to get real sustained pressure on the quarterback. This season, most of the interceptions  have been because they’ve confused quarterbacks with their coverages.

Against Dallas, Tony Romo was fooled into throwing a bad ball in the first quarter that led to a pick when he didn’t see Kyle Arrington dropping into coverage. Gary Guyton had a ball fall right into his lap Sunday on a Ben Roethlisberger pass over the middle. Ditto for Pat Chung when he got one against a bewildered Jason Campbell in the win over Oakland.

Improve the communication across the board: The Patriots safeties acknowledged as much on Monday -- the communication wasn’t where it needed to be. New England spent a lot of time in zone coverage, but there were times where some players looked like they didn’t know if it was man or zone. And when they were in zone, it appeared some defensive backs didn’t know where they should be.

Some of that could be due to the fact that defensive captain Jerod Mayo -- the acknowledged defensive leader -- was back on the field for the first time Sunday since injuring his knee in a Week Four win over the Raiders. Mayo wears the communication system in his helmet; he makes the calls and leads the defensive huddle. But on Sunday against the Steelers, he played only 31 snaps, the fewest number of snaps he’s played in a non-injury situation since his rookie year. In addition, he didn’t wear the team’s defensive radio helmet for the game -- Brandon Spikes assumed Mayo’s usual duties of running the defensive huddle.

“It’s really a team thing. It’s not one guy -- communication involves somebody talking, somebody listening and everybody understanding, whether its offense, defense, special teams. It doesn’t matter what it is,” Belichick said. “It’s important that we do a good job as I said, getting all 11 players playing the right defense, playing it properly.”

For Belichick, the key is having everyone on the same page -- even if it’s the wrong book.

“It’s better for us all to be wrong together than for half to be right and half to be wrong. We’re better off if we’re all wrong. That’s right. If that makes any sense,” Belichick said earlier this season. “At least if we’re all playing the same thing, we have a better chance of executing it than half of the guys are in the right thing and half the guys are in the wrong thing. They usually don’t tie together. That’s not a good combination.”