EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- He's been on the field for only 2 1/2 games so far in his rookie season, but no matter what he's been doing on game days, Teddy Bridgewater hasn't been far from the cameras.
A Wall Street Journal story, which measured how many times coaches and quarterbacks are shown during an average game, found Bridgewater was shown an average of 22.5 times per game this season -- the third most of any quarterback in the league. Bridgewater's screen time put him just ahead of Drew Brees, with (guess who?) Peyton Manning and Tom Brady finishing first and second, respectively.
"Minnesota’s Teddy Bridgewater ranked a surprising third among quarterbacks," the story said, "but he is a much-hyped rookie that the announcers were often discussing and the cameras were hence showing."
Mike Zimmer's first few games as an NFL head coach have been a popular storyline for TV crews, too. Zimmer ranks 10th among head coaches, appearing in an average of 33.5 shots per game. He checked in just ahead of fellow first-year coach Bill O'Brien of the Houston Texans, and was the runaway winner for screen time among NFC North coaches. Bears coach Marc Trestman finished 18th, while relative wallflowers Jim Caldwell and Mike McCarthy were 31st and 32nd, respectively.
We all know how much the cameras from HBO's "Hard Knocks" loved Zimmer, whose animated persona -- and extensive four-letter vocabulary -- made him a star of the show when he was the Cincinnati Bengals' defensive coordinator. And even though the Vikings have made their only scheduled national TV appearance this season, their first-year coach and quarterback are finding plenty of time in the TV spotlight.