John Harbaugh supports more cameras during football games

The Baltimore Ravens fell victim to the NFL’s lack of cameras against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, thankfully though, they did not see it in the loss column.

Wide receiver Corey Coleman caught a great pass from QB Josh McCown for a touchdown, but it was difficult to tell whether or not he actually scored. Images now show he was blatantly out of bounds.

Pretty obvious here, right?

John Harbaugh was asked about the camera’s during the Monday Post-game report,

“Yes, that’s something that’s been brought up in the owners’ meetings often, and [Patriots] coach [Bill] Belichick has been a champion of that, and I support fully what he says, out of fairness. There should be the same number of cameras at every game, and if the network doesn’t have them, the NFL should put them in there. [Coach Belichick] says it way more flamboyantly than I do – he had some great lines that we all laughed about – but I’m siding up with coach Belichick on that one. That would be the right thing to do. Every game is just as important to the teams that are playing in the game. I don’t know, maybe the networks didn’t think our game was as important. I thought the crew did a great job. That crew is a really good crew, and a young crew, and when we had them in the production meeting, I thought they were awesome. But we didn’t have as many cameras there, and it made a difference in the replays, absolutely.”

The NFL is a mult-billion dollar organization. The lowest valued team in the league, the Buffalo Bills, are currently valued at $1.5 billion*. Their operating income is $26 million and their revenue was $326 million last year. These numbers are absurd, truly absurd, yet the game isn’t professionally video’d to ensure the highest quality of games within the boundaries and limitations?

I’ve searched what cameras the NFL uses to film the games.

1. NFL Skycams / Suspended Camera System

Skycam’s first public use was in 1984, during a preseason game between the Chargers and 49ers, by CBS. The NFL didn’t turn to the Skycam immediately, instead waiting another 18 before using them consistently on broadcasts. These cameras are not cheap, in fact they boast a price tag upwards of $115,000. Nonetheless, the NFL can obviously afford something with this price-tag.

2. Sony HDC 1500

The Sony HDC 1500 was used in February of 2011, used to film Super Bowl XLV. The NFL posted 32 of them for the game, and also four HDC 3300 3x Slow motion cameras.

Price tags:

Sony HDC 1500 - $54,000 X 32 = $1,728,000

Sony HDC - 3300 R - $100,000 X 4 = $400,000

Bottom Line

The NFL has more than enough money to provide adequate equipment to ensure the game is played within the boundaries. The back of the endzone should be an obvious spot for camera placements. Under no circumstance should there not be high caliber equipment to judge the basic out-of-bounds markers, and specifically in the endzone.