I was reading Ed's Giant Notes post today and clicked on Defensive Hog Index story. After reading with much satisfaction about our #1 defense, I followed another link that measures "Bendabitlity."  The research appears to support what my eyes have been seeing: dominating performances on both sides of the ball, yet the inexplicable nature of not being able to put away an opponent.

I  wasn't surprised to see the Giants rank 3rd from last.

The article found here calculates "Bendabilty" by dividing Yards Allowed by Total Points Allowed = Yards Per Point Allowed.  As the article states, this is not just a defensive indicator. This would calculate the total team performance including special teams and other factors.

The Gmen's line is:

For comparison, Pittsburgh is #1 with:

Even though our rank is abysmal, I find it quite encouraging. We know our offense and defense are playing excellent and we know by watching we're letting teams hang around in spite of being superior in yardage gained and allowed and time of possession. I really believe that some of the contributors to this low rating are about to turn around after the bye: the tipped ball interceptions can't possibly go on as they have, Jacobs and Bradshaw will  focus on better ball protection (high and tight boys!) and Matt Dodge is actually learning how to punt in the NFL. If we can even get to league average in this category while maintaining our offense and defensive play I think we can legitimately enter the "best team in the league" discussion.

Figured this would be an interesting topic to get through the bye week.