Philly tops the Bendability Index

Could New England run all over Philly and still not win?

The answer is yes, at least if the 2004 regular season was any indication.

For the past 10 days Eagles fans and the omnipresent "pundits" have touted Philly's "bend-but-don't-break" defense. The term "bend but don't break" is, of course, an overused football cliché. Normally these media-fueled maxims are exposed as empty and hollow when held under the blinding klieg light of gridiron wisdom, the Cold, Hard Football Facts.

But this is one instance where the Cold, Hard Football Facts confirm the assertions of cliché, "pundit" and fan. The Eagles defense is the Gumby of professional football. It bends like no other. This is a phenomenon we noted in the middle of the season.

Back in November we dusted off our empty-beer-can and pistachio-shell abacus and quantified for the first time in the history of footballkind the "bend but don't break" phenomenon. Basically, we determined which NFL defenses were the most bendable and, of course, which were the easiest to shatter. The result was the Cold, Hard Football Facts Bendability Index. Philly topped the list back in November. It continues to top the list today. New England, however, has risen from fourth and is a close second today. In other words, the two most bendable defenses have made their way into the Super Bowl.

Here's how we did it: We simply divided each team's yards allowed by points allowed. What it gave us was "yards per point allowed" – that is, the number of yards an opposing offense must generate to score a single point against a given defense. The greater the number, the more flexible the defense. The smaller the number, the more brittle the defense.

Even without knowing the exact numbers, you can get a feel for which defenses are the most bendable simply by looking at the spread between their total-defense ranking and points-allowed ranking. Philly, for example, ranks No. 10 in total defense (i.e., yards allowed) and No. 2 in scoring defense. New England ranks No. 9 in total defense and was tied with Philly with the league's No. 2 scoring defense. In other words, Philly claims a bigger spread between its total defense and scoring defense rankings. Therefore, we can tell it has a more bendable defense than New England even before crushing our Meister Brau cans to crunch the numbers.

Here is the complete season-end rankings on the Bendability Index, from the Stretch Armstrong spine of the Philadelphia Eagles to the osteoporosis-riddled bones of the San Francisco 49ers.

It's important to note that Philadelphia's defense has actually improved since Week 10, when we compiled our first list. Back then, the Eagles ranked just 24th in total defense (348.5 yards per game). At the end of the regular season, they ranked 10th, surrendering just 319.7 yards per game. Obviously, the Philly defense improved quite a bit over the second half of the season. However, its Bendability Index number has declined from 21.28 yards per point in November to 19.67 yards per point today. New England surrendered 18.58 yards per point in November and ranked fourth on the Bendability Index. Today, its Bendability Index number stands at 19.12 yards per point.

As we concluded in November, yards per point allowed is a simple calculation but it ultimately accounts for a number of variables – field position, special teams proficiency, red zone defense and turnovers – in a succinct little package that show us which defenses may bend, but refuse to break. After looking at the Bendability Index, for example, it's no surprise to learn that Philly tops the league in red zone defense.

It's one of the few factors working in the favor of a team that emerged from a woefully inept NFC this season and must now face the league's No. 4 scoring offense in Super Bowl XXXIX. But this factor may be the most important one. After all, winners aren't judged by how many yards they surrender in the stat book but by how many points they surrender on the scoreboard.