November 21, 2011

Guide: How to use Broncos Blog

This post is a guide to how I use Broncos Blog to get the maximum amount of news coverage for the Broncos. It was my vision that this site/blog could be a homepage for Broncos fans to visit. A collection of all information they would need and to be able to quickly navigate to all important Broncos news around the web. This will be an informative piece about the different features on the site and explanations of the different linked websites. I thought this would be a good piece for users to understand the site and it's purpose plus I think it is one of a kind site which links to all other Bronco sites.

To begin with I have a bit of a ritual that I do everyday to get updated with Broncos news. It begins with checking the latest post on the main page of the blog. The top post usually contains the latest information on the Broncos, it is written from our perspective and will usually contain our own views and opinions on the subject matter. Moving downwards I always check the comments for questions and observation from our readers. Here insightful discussion is usually occurring between our readers. As well as informal conversation on pretty much any subject.

Once finished with the blog post it is time to check out the latest Bronco news. There are three widgets that are located in the sidebar that easily can provide this. There is the Rotoworld widget and the twitter feeds for the Denver Broncos and John Elway.

The Rotoworld Broncos widget is taken from the Rotoworld website and has been filtered to only display Broncos news. Rotoworld is a website that monitors pretty much all important twitter and news website feeds across the league and quickly provides short, prompt information updates. If news breaks it is usually on Rotoworld first.

The Denver Broncos twitter feed is run by the Denver Broncos web team and is updated with when new articles/blog posts are added to the website. Also they are the official twitter account for transaction updates including trades. If you hear of a trade being made they are the official source for confirmation.

John Elway's twitter feed belongs to none other than VP John Elway. He doesn't update as often as the other widgets but he does update occasionally and it is from his perspective. It is a good tool to use to get a little insight into the mind of the guy running the football operations.

Located between these widgets is the poll question for the website. I check this as well because the question is usually something relevant and is an easy way to see how the fan base is feeling/thinking about the subject.

Websites

Once I am satisfied that I am up-to-date on this site it is time to go around the Broncos web. There are two places to do this. There are links to all the main/major Broncos sites at the top of the screen. Then there is the Broncos Blogs list located in the side bar. Below is a list and a description of the websites that I frequent for my Bronco fix.


These are the website located in the top navigation bar.

MileHighReport (MHR)
Is the biggest Broncos fan website on the web. This is a website that was started by John Bena several years ago and has continued to grow into one of the best resources for Bronco news on the web. Anybody that has joined up to the site can post a fan post. This can cause problems as there can be numerous uninformative, troll-like, hater posts on the site. But there are a few people that post up really useful and intelligent information. The recommended posts and the main section of the site are musts for these quality posts. Studs and Duds, No Bull Review are regulars for me. The comments are generally well maintained and good discussion occurs but it can get childish (but this can always add to the value). It is a must read for Bronco fans.

Rotoworld
This is the rest of the site from which the Bronco widget is taken. This is a quick and simple way to get information about all 32 teams across the league. This site is a must for fantasy football players, it has updates on all injuries and provides a little insight into match ups and potential production for players. Rotoworld is a website that monitors pretty much all important twitter and news website feeds across the league and quickly provides short, prompt information updates. If news breaks it is usually on Rotoworld first.

Drew Litton
Drew is a comic cartoonist and has been doing Bronco cartoons for years since the Rocky Mountain news days. Drew still does Bronco cartoons as they are one of his favorite subject matter. He does do cartoons about other subjects and other teams depending on his employment or the major stories at the time. But he is always good for a laugh or a simile as his cartoons are gold. He updates the site regularly, almost every day plus sometimes runs caption contests for his comics. This is a site you definitely have to check out.

National Football Post (NFP)
If you look for the most in depth articles on football across the league then this is the site for you. The writers include a player agent, former players, former general manager, former scouts and of course your fantasy guru. Matt Bowen is a former player that has played for teams including the Redskins. He is a 7 year vet of the league and in his time has learned a lot about the game. His articles breaking down defense and offensive plays are amazing and there is nothing else like it on the web. Also his other articles are good reads as they are taken from the players perspective. Bowen is someone I have a lot of respect for. Andrew Brandt has worked in the front office of teams like the Bears and Packers. His articles on the Business of football, the contract side of things are few interesting. His articles during the CBA were the most informative. Plus his stories about interactions with current players are also interesting reads. Jack Bechta is a former college player and now a player agent who has some interesting stories about his clients and the player side of contracts. His articles are again another look at the business side of football but from another perspective. This website is great way to see the NFL from all angles and points of view.

National Football League (NFL)
The official site for the NFL. Here is where you go for all your stats, scores, videos and photos from the league games. The NFL network is generally pretty good and up-to-date on its' information and the main articles are useful. Plus videos like Prime Time, Top 10 and other production value videos are a must to check out.




ESPN
This link takes you straight to the homepage for the ESPN NFL website. From here you can get information for all teams. The main articles on the front page are usually good reads, with scouting reports, some feel good stories and team power rankings. The link you are looking for though is the AFC West blog, located pretty much in the center of the screen. This blog roll is run by Bill Williamson. Williamson joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four seasons covering the Denver Broncos for the Denver Post. He previously covered the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks. Bill is OK in his analysis, not the best but good for a beat writer. He also collects all the information and major story lines for the teams in the AFC West. If you want to get up-to-date information on our division rivals this is the place to do so.

DenverBroncos (DB.com)
The official site for the Denver Broncos. Here you will get all the information on the Broncos. Player and Coaching interviews, videos of training, a well maintained blog that has updates about training and the off season. Elway live, photos, cheerleaders. This is the home of the Broncos on the web and contains a lot of their information. Chris Hall and the web team over there have done a great job in making the website one of the best NFL sites around. Their blog page is updated often and is the best place for unfiltered Bronco news you will be hard pressed finding anyway else. The community over there is generally good and was our old stomping ground. The commenters are generally nice and die hard Bronco fans, a good place for discussion.

DenverPost (DP.com)
The Post is the locale newspaper for Denver and is the main reporters on Broncos news. The team consists of Mike Klis, Lindsay Jones, Jeff Legwold, Woody Paige and Dave Krieger. This group are good at getting news and stories from the Broncos and have contacts inside the organization. They occasionally do the feel good stories on the Broncos as well. Plus any news good or bad about the players the Post is the place with the most in depth coverage. Some of the writers do try to push their own agenda and opinion on the fan base which can sometimes miss the point completely but it is up to us to know better. Also this is not the place to comment on posts, hating is the normal and it is always a war of words, some even not understandable. I suggest staying away from the comments.



That is it for the top links. The other websites are taken from the Broncos Blogs list in the sidebar.

They are as follows:

Denver Broncos True Fans
This blog is run by our Bronco brothers. This is one of my favorite places to go for discussion about the Broncos as the guys will tell you exactly how it is and use any word in their vocabulary. This is not a website for women, children or the faint of heart as expletives are the norm. This is a site for manly men to come and talk Broncos.





Denver Broncos on Yahoo! Sports
The Yahoo! Sports page for the Broncos is an attention resource to check out for stats and information. It also tracks transactions and injuries quite well. I would visit this site as it sometimes has random stories on the players that no other site will. This site is one you would check every few days.

MaxDenver
Is a site that is run by Andrew Mason, he formerly was in charge of the Broncos website before he was fired and went to the Panthers. He at the time had made the Broncos site one of the most informative websites in the league with insight into the players. Probably why Shanahan got rid of him. Either way Mason is back covering the Broncos by himself and has good information on the team. He does some really good posts during the off season and training camp.

It's All Over, Fat Man!
The website was made by former MHR staffers after they had had enough of the environment at MHR. They have since created the most in depth, information packed fan website on the web for the Broncos. Their stuff is great and with a side of humor is easy to digest. I recommend anyone to check it out as they update each day with new interesting articles. The commenting is pretty good too and the writers are happy to discuss. It is worth a look.

That is it for my routine and this should satisfy your Broncos fix.



References

If you are looking for the Broncos schedule or the current standings of the division these are located within the side bar.

Located at the top of the side bar is the box score for the last Broncos game or the upcoming game for the Broncos depending on the day of the week.

If you are looking for the most popular articles or the complete archive for Broncos Blog this is located in the side bar.


Other Features

There are a number of other features available on the website. These are listed below:

Video Bar
It displays a number of videos related to the Broncos and interesting for the occasion watch.

Followers
A list of followers of the Broncos Blog and the ability for new readers to be come followers.

Cheerleaders and Broncos Honor Wall
A quick link to the Broncos Cheerleaders for your viewing pleasure. The Broncos Honor Wall is the top 5 Broncos players that have been voted for by you the fans.

News Headlines
The top headlines for NFL.com, ESPN.com and MHR.com


I hope this is helpful to new and old users. ~ Aussie

8 comments:

  1. Hey, hey, hey.
    I usually look to see if there is something new up, check the rotoworld Bronco news and click on DB true fans so I have both windows up. Then if nothing much to talk about on the two blogs I click on ESPN or MHR.

    Orton to the Chiefs. Yeah! Good luck with that KC. McGahee named Captain in his place. Weber brought up from PS as 3rd QB.

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  2. Hey Digger, well maybe check out a few of the other sites, there is more than enough Bronco news out there on the web. Did you like my description for DB true fans? haha

    Orton to the Chiefs is good, he will probably struggle there with that team being worse than ours. I feel sorry for him that he has to play Von Doom in week 17. Either way I think it was a nice move by us.

    I am happy they bought up Weber, I think he is the future backup for Tebow long term. With maybe a vet to back him up. That is if Elway wants Tebow :P

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  3. Also loving the new Twitter feeds, as soon as a new practice blog goes up we know! haha.

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  4. Yeah. I can see where you might say that. I personally am a construction guy and sometimes I forget I'm talking to all different kinds of people. Language can get a little rough over there sometimes.

    I like the twitter add. I don't have twitter so it's nice.

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  5. I know what you mean, being Australian it is second nature haha. It doesn't phase me, but someone like Princess may not like.

    I thought they would be good adds. I don't use twitter either but these are ones we need to follow and watch. I have already found them useful so quite happy.

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  6. Hello there men lol.

    Good post, very informative. Good stuff.

    Definitely not accustomed to the language I'm sure is used at DB true fans, never been to the site at all probably for the fear of that reason. lol Just wasn't raised that way

    Site is lookin real good with all the new updates. Gotta say the additions of knowing when a new blog is up on DB is nice cause I've been coming on here more than the official site so quicker access to any new blogs over there via twitter. ahaha

    Nice work Aussie

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  7. oh and...

    HALLELUJAH!! HALLELUJAH!! We finally got a can of "Orton-be-gone" ROFL I only feel bad for him cause now he's stuck with the Chiefs. I find that hysterical, they really are desperate. Cassel is shaking in his boots lol

    meh, now that I think about it I don't feel sorry for him. Orton isn't a long-term QB for any team, clearly. Won't be in the NFL too much longer. Just doesn't have the momentum for a 16 game season every year. Gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it all over again.... so long Orton, so long........

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  8. Haha thanks Princess.

    And I am glad to see Orton gone.

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