The Bendability Index

The Bendability Index is something you probably haven't heard of before. But it's something you are about to hear about, and it's something that you should know. It's a very relevant statistic, and it should be tracked, though -- for the usual reasons regarding a lack of in-depth analysis in most circles -- it is not.

So just what is the Bendability Index?

Cold, Hard Football Facts -- insofar as I can tell -- is the inventor of this statistic, and they have this to say about it:

This is the first stat that chronicles the phenomenon of the "bend but don't break" defense and provides a measure of defensive efficiency. The Bendability Index is obtained by dividing a team's total yards allowed by total points allowed, yielding Yards Per Point allowed. A team that ranks high on the Bendability Index has the defense that opponents must work hardest to score upon

In other words, you literally have to do more to score points against teams that rank high in the Bendability Index. You have to gain more yards, move the ball farther, pick up more first downs, etc.

But is the Bendability Index merely a measure of defensive prowess? No. Again quoting Cold, Hard Football Facts:

The Bendability Index is not purely a defensive yardstick. It is, instead, a great barometer of team success, of overall team strength and efficiency. It is a function of many team-wide factors, including general defensive strength, special teams proficiency, turnover differential, and Red Zone defense.

Though the Bendability Index measures defensive prowess, as noted earlier, it also indicates overall team strength. Poor play from the offensive and special teams (namely offensive turnovers, and poor punting and kicking) also have a massive impact on the number of points allowed. So it's not just a measure of defensive performance, but of the efficiency of your team as a whole. Never forget, it's not just defenses that give up points. Teams, as a whole, give up points.

Moreover, it's a highly relevant statistic. Double Extra Point -- a blog similar to this one dedicated to Nebraska football -- crunched the numbers and found that the Bendability Index correlated with winning significantly higher than total defense, pass efficiency defense, run defense, third down efficiency defense, and fourth down efficiency defense. The only thing that correlated higher with winning than the Bendability Index was scoring defense, and it did so only very slightly. In the big picture, the Bendability Index may even be a more important statistic than even scoring defense, as was noted by Cold, Hard Football Facts.

So how did my beloved Crimson Tide stack up in terms of Bendability Index in 2006?

Not well at all, unfortunately.

All told, when you run the numbers based on conference play, we finished 11th in the conference in the Bendability Index, ahead of only Mississippi State. At the end of the day, opposing teams generated only 13.39 yards per point scored. By comparison, Florida led the conference, as opposing teams generated over 19 yards per point scored. For another comparison, our 2005 team forced opposing teams to generate 23.75 yards per point scored (I don't have the full SEC data for the 2005, but I'm sure that led the league by a mile).

Certainly that is a sign of a poor play in 2006 by our defense. The loss of the stars of the 2005 defense, being brutally honest, hurt much more than anyone expected. I'm not even sure rival Alabama haters expected the drop-off that we ultimately saw.

But, again, it's not just the defense. It's a measure of overall team efficiency, or in case in 2006, a lack thereof. The Alabama offense turned the ball over entirely too much, and in some cases those turnovers led directly to points. Take Quentin Culbertson's interception of John Parker Wilson returned for a touchdown in the Mississippi State game for example, the Bulldogs put seven points on the board with the offense sipping Gatorade on the bench. But it was also indicative of other problems, particularly on special teams. No one needs to be told special teams were atrocious in 2006. We finished near the bottom in punting, kick-offs were generally short, and we generally allowed big returns. All told, it all combined for opposing teams to have short fields, if not points directly, and that made it much easier to score points by having to move the ball a much shorter distance to get the ball either into the end zone and / or between the uprights.

And, really, that's about all you can say. Unfortunately, it's just another statistic showing just how bad we were in 2006. Hopefully that will change dramatically in 2007 with the new coaching regime.

Either way, the Bendability Index is certainly something you should be keeping your eye on.