CalendarAdvertiseDistributionArchiveShopAboutContact
Close
Best of Erie 2018
News & Politics
Events
Music
Arts & Culture
Opinion
Food & Drink
Issues Archive
Web Only
Events Calendar
Advertise
More
Business
Community
Environment
Erie at Large
Features
Film
From the Editors
Jen Sorensen Cartoons
Just Toyin' Witcha
Music Reviews
Sports
Theater
Distribution Locations
About Us
Contact Us
Shop
Issue Archives
Share:
OpinionSports

The Wall Street Journal Tracks Most-Shown QBs, Head Coaches

Jim Harbaugh and Peyton Manning get a lot of camera love on the sideline. Mike Glennon, not so much.

by Alex Bieler
View ProfileFacebookTwitterInstagramGoogle+RSS Feed
October 18, 2014 at 4:21 PM

As odd as it may sound, the average broadcast of an NFL game contains little actual action. According to a 2010 study by The Wall Street Journal, the average NFL matchup contained just 11 minutes of actual play, with the majority of the broadcast featuring a bunch of athletes and coaches just standing around.

It's a bit of a deceptive number, as the football chess match between plays are a big part of the narative of a game, but the downtime still makes for a lot of creative editing for TV prodcuers. One simple solution for that is the sideline shot: a quick cut to a player or coach by their team's benches. It's a fairly common occurrence during an NFL game, but not all team members are quite equal in a producer's eyes. Once again, the football-loving researchers at The Wall Street Journal did another study on their football blog The Count, this time recording the number of times a quarterback or head coach was shown during a sideline shot over the course of an entire game.

For the study, The Count reporters watched "two full games from the 2014 season for all 32 teams and tallied the number of times the broadcast cut to the head coach (regardless of duration)." The results are pretty interesting, albeit mostly unsurprising. Future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos edged out New England Patriots pigskin tosser and fellow future Hall of Famer Tom Brady for the top QB spot 31 shots to 29.5. Brady's frumpy head coach Bill Belichick also fell just short of first, falling just one shot shy of San Fancisco 49ers bench boss Jim Harbaugh's 45.5 shots per game, a victory for Sharpie and khaki pants enthusiasts everywhere. 

Unfortunately, Mike McCarthy's Sharpie game can't quite match the veiny Harbaugh's, as he logged just 13.5 shots per contest, fewest among head coaches. Still, even he finished higher than 15 different starting quarterbacks, including the impressively-bearded Ryan Fitzpatrick and poor Mike Glennon, who gets shown just 5.5 times in a Tampa Bay Buccaneers contest when the offense is off the field.

The Pittsburgh Steelers duo of Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger are a popular pair, finishing fifth and tied for 11th, respectively. As for the Cleveland Browns, Brian Hoyer finished eighth for quarterbacks, while Erie City Councilman Bob Merski-lookalike Mike Pettine landed in 20th (Sorry, Bob). Johnny Manziel was not ranked, which is good, because he would probably make Glennon feel even more unknown.

Check out the whole rankings at The Count and feel free to keep count of sideline shots during Sunday's NFL games. Perhaps in the future we can even incorporate these shots into fantasy football (PPSS - Points Per Sideline Shot?). Until then, enjoy the Sunday Sharpie exposure.

nflwall street journalpeyton manningjim harbaughbill belichickbrian hoyercleveland brownsmike glennonsharpiekhaki

Featured Events

Today Tomorrow This Weekend

Super Somar Palooza

Dance
Feb. 23rd, 7 PM

Jersey Boys

Theater
Feb. 23rd, 8 PM

Cruisin'

Music
Feb. 23rd, 9:30 PM

Personal Blend

Music
Feb. 23rd, 10 PM

Erie's Best Coffee

Food & Drink
Feb. 24th, 10 AM

Submit Your Event   View Calendar

Reading the Future
Erie Reader: Vol. 9, No. 4
View Past Issues
In This Issue

Popular This Week

Flip for Flip Cafe

Tracing Erie's History of Redlining

More Than Waking Up: Erie's Best Coffee

"Listen Together": Spotify's Coolest New Feature

Celebration of Music in Honor of Black History Month

Related Articles

Top TV Picks From 2018

by Nick Warren12/19/2018, 12:45 PM
Some of the best shows of the year

Best of Erie Voting NOW OPEN

by Erie Reader Staff11/9/2018, 9:00 AM
Cast your ballots in over 100 categories for your favorite local people, places, and things

A Letter from Ian Malesiewski

by Ian Malesiewski10/30/2018, 3:27 PM
The life-changing contrasts between caretaking programs

Erie At Large: Life after The Tree of Life

by Jim Wertz10/29/2018, 10:41 AM
Tragic Pittsburgh synagogue shooting is a call against indifference

War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast Turns 80 Years Old

by Joe Cieslak10/24/2018, 1:30 PM
Fictional account of Martian invasion all too real to panicked listeners

Team Players

by Matt Swanseger9/26/2018, 11:00 AM
LECOM's athletic sponsorships score big nationally
© 2019 Great Lakes Online Media
1001 State Street  //  Erie, PA 16501
Terms of Use Privacy Policy