[quote=@DrewVonAwesome]
<Snipped quote by knighthawk>

The idea is they do things behind the scenes usually or at least try too.  If something does spill out to the street SHIELD has the power to get it out of public knowledge.  They will be on their own and called in when something's needed to be taken care of.
[/quote]

I see a LOT of quickly deployed movie crews when SHIELD stands for "Shit Hit. Initiate Emergency Limelight Distraction."