Becoming a More Educated Fan: Learning From The Past

One of the issues I see most often on this site is newer members having to learn things the hard way, so while I have no issue with everyone learning on their own, I thought I take what I, and other staffers have learned, to help ease people into the site. With Mile High Report having such a long, storied history, we should use it as a resource. So as with the past two pieces in this series, I'm looking to make life easier for newer members.

So with that in mind, I wanted to ask each of you to come with me as we take a visit down the archives of Mile High Report. We will be reviewing some of the more important articles, at least in my opinion, as well as some of the favorites from the past of some of the staffers.

We don't have to reinvent the wheel, on many topics, ranging from comparing the 3-4 to the 4-3 to McD's personal history to where everyone is from, so let the past help the present, you don't have to do work that has already been done. Let's work and learn smarter, it only makes our lives easier.

Mile High Report Archives and You

Using the Search Function:

The first tool to keep in mind as you begin your search for knowledge is the search function, it's neatly tucked in the upper right hand corner of the site, conveniently labeled "search posts and comments" and it does just that. Want to see if anyone has talked about trading for DeAngelo Williams recently, just type in his name, add in the word "trade" if you feel so inclined and BAM, you get results. Not surprisingly, people have talked about him, a lot. So lets take something more obscure that you want to right about, concussions for example, you can type it in and be able to look through research, comments and posts that discuss concussions that you can either learn from or use as sources for your own work. Also, say you want to check out Orton's value around the league for example, you can search other SB Nation sites as well.

So this tool can be helpful to see if someone has recently already talked about a topic, so that you don't beat a dead horse, or it can help you by giving you additional resources for your own post. Just make sure to like to others work, courtesy goes a long way.

Now there is one more key feature to note as well, that is of each members profile. If you click on a member, you can pull up a brief bio on them, look at the blogs they've joined and their recent activity, but did you know you can actually search their personal posts on a topic? So say you have a favorite staffer, Sayre for example, and you love his draft work, so you can go to his member page, go to the search bar, and say you want to look at what he thinks of Von Miller, type in "Von Miller draft" you get a list of everything Sayre has written about Von Miller and the draft.

The Sections Tab:

This is a bit of a hidden gem, hidden just below the Mile High Report logo and the fan confidence poll, it's a small pull down tab that holds wonders. Open it up and you get an organized and filed look at each section and topic that the staffers have written. Want to relive the 2008 season, click the 2008 Denver Broncos Game Previews or 2008 Denver Broncos Post Game Notes. Looking to see interviews that have been done, it's in there, legal matter, in there, opinion pieces, polls, MHR Radio, it's got it all. So if you have a topic you are researching, or a year you want to review, take a gander in there, it's literally Mary Poppins bag, in Mile High Report form.

Last But Not Least:

As the title said, these aren't to be forgotten. At the top of the page, below the ad, you will see a bar, that has many useful tabs, including the listings of all posts, shots and front page stories Mile High Report has too offer. Add in that top bar has stats, rosters, tickets and more, it should be taken note of.

Posts From The Past!

We've taken a brief tour of the tools to find information from the past, now I want to present some of the posts I find most useful and others that I really enjoyed. Let's get reviewing!

MHR-University

This is among the best series ever written on Mile High Report and can be found using the handy Sections tab we talked about. But for you lazy folks, here's the link to it's archive. MHR-U was mostly done by Steve Nichols, a former staffer here, and he covers a very wide range of topics about the mechanics of football as well as discuss how to becoming a better member of Mile High Report. So I will give you guys a MHR-U starter kit to help get things going:

On Field Ramifications of Head Coaching Change

DL gaps and techniques

Modern 3-4 Defense Systems

3-4: Position Responsibilities and Blocking Theory

Building Your Rep at MHR, Building Cred at MHR/ Part 1, and Builing Cred at MHR/ Part 2

MHR-Tech Tip

Another fantastic series by Steve Nichols about using the editor and make the most of each post, worth a read for  newer members as well as members looking to improve their posting. Here's the link to it's archive. Here's a few posts to get you going:

"Tags" and "Recommended" Defined

Pictures!

Making your Fanpost Rock!

MHR Bronco History Lessons

Tim Lynch is the man in charge of the history around here, but he has gotten help as well in recent times. If you are looking to take a peak at Bronco history, this is a good place to start. A few interesting articles to wet your appetite:

Jay Cutler: A Brief History Lesson

Know Your Coaches

Broncomania

Words From the Boss Himself:

Now rarely do we get to hear directly from the horse's mouth, pardon the pun on many levels, but when John Bena opens up, it's usually worth listening to. Now while John lacks his own section on Mile High Report, he has given us many a good post, and while the ones I will be listing will mostly deal with how Mile High Report is run, click on his name than click on blog, he's got some great reading. Here's a few of his writings:

PLEASE READ - This Will Be The Only Time I Say This - MHR Code of Conduct.

The Broncos, MileHighReport and You

Objectivity vs. Kool-Aid, What it means to be a Broncos Fan

Fire With A Focus....The Continuing Evolution Of Mile High Report 

Personal Favorites:

I have been a member of Mile High Report for some time, longer than other and shorter than some, but I have read, and written, some great articles in the past. Some may have touched me, others pointed something out I hadn't noticed before, and then you have others that were just funny. So if you will indulge me as I take a brief trip down memory lane:

What We Can Learn From John Wooden: I wrote this shortly after Coach Wooden died, and I really enjoyed writing it, I learned a lot from it, and it was one of my favorites to share with others.

Dear Denver, I'm Having an Affair: This was a post I did to help explain my background a bit better to those that didn't know me. I had a lot of fun writing it, and learned a lot about other members here as well.

Some Clarification is in Order - Off-Season Stats: Running Backs: I don't think I put more time into any series than I did into this one, and I loved every second of it.

Injuries and the NFL by Doc Bear: This was a very informative post about trends in the NFL about injuries, and really opened my eyes a lot.

Seeing the Stars Through the Trees by Brian Shrout: A fantastic piece by Brian talking about getting the big picture, and not focusing on one element, as well as talking about combining film and stats to create the perfect combo.

On Broncos, their fans, and Bloodlust by BroncoPH: This is a top tier piece that discusses the nature of Bronco fans and the 2010 season in a smart, funny and enjoyable read.

Staffer's Picks:

So I asked some of the staffers to let me know some of their favorite articles, and here are their responses:

Jezru

Okay!

So this was an easy one for me.  I wrote it in a pissed off rage at work after I heard that Shannon Sharpe was screwed over in getting admitted to the HOF on his first try.  Though I lacked the stats capability to really do this post the way I had grandly imagined it, I was able to attract like minded individuals with those stats skills to illustrate the concepts that were making me so upset.  After my post, Studbucket (J. T. Kimball) ran with the travesty idea and made an excellent case from which the MHR Hall of Fame Committee was born. Two years later, we celebrated the induction of Floyd Little and, here next month, Shannon Sharpe will be inducted. To what extent our efforts contributed in getting these deserving candidates into the hall of fame, we'll never know.  However, we worked our butts off lobbying the voters and pumping up our guys.

It started with this post:

http://www.milehighreport.com/2009/2/2/744619/bills-v-broncos-a-hof-trav

...The Path of the MHR Hall of Fame Committee: Early last year the 2009 Pro Football Hall of Fame class was announced, and once again there were no Broncos inducted. There was anger and outrage, it was called a travesty, then it was called a travesty again. It was out of those posts a committee was born. No more weeping and gnashing of teeth, we're taking action. With John (Guru) advising and great help from Tim (Zappa), a committee consisting of Jezru, studbucket, and firstfan was formed with the purpose gathering data and opinions to create an organized campaign to get more Broncos in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. To see the first post in this series, go here. The second post can be found here. The third from November 2009, can be found here. After the successful campaign for Floyd Little and the celebratory post from here, here, and here, the committee passed the torch to a new slate of members. Bfree2bronc, broncosmontana and Troy (kentuckybronco) became the new faces of the committee. The mission continues. The walls of the Hall of Fame will be painted orange and blue.

I can tell you that one of the best (to me) articles that I wrote, was the one on Decker and Stokely's Lisfranc injuries. That one felt good. Link.

They play the same position. They have both had the same injury. They share the same agent in Todd France, and have history with a mutual coach. While the first one is a given and the second, coincidence; the latter two have combined to make Eric Decker and Brandon Stokely familiar teammates.

 Decker was diagnosed with a Lisfranc injury--a tear of the ligament that holds his first two toes in place. This is a critical injury for a player that needs to cut and plant his feet running pass routes. Brandon Stokley suffered a similar injury while playing for the Baltimore Ravens in 2002.

The rookie found his mentor in a roundabout way. Stokley reached out to Decker soon after the University of Minnesota wideout injured his left foot in a game against Ohio State in October. Stokely came to know about Decker through Jedd Fisch, the former Gophers offensive coordinator who’s since taken a position with the Seattle Seahawks. Fisch, once the receivers’ coach for the Broncos, asked Stokley to say a few encouraging words to Decker after he got hurt. Stokley took it a step further by forging a friendship.

 When he hurt his foot during that game, Eric didn’t realize how bad his injury was. It took him more than a week to figure out what really happened. Unfortunately it turned out to be a Lisfranc sprain, which promptly ended his college career and required him to have surgery.

Matt: I have a couple of all-time favorite posts/fanposts that I have read.

Here is one from our elder statesman, firstfan   http://www.milehighreport.com/2008/5/10/507305/the-mayonnaise-jar-and-two.

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

 

Hoosierteacher stood before the crowded lecture hall at MHR University. Styg, Guru, Zappa, mdierk( the A students) were all in the front row, eager to learn. Firstfan was in the back with his dunce cap on. All of the students were there. Super7 and Jon Tollerud were hoping for an in-depth discussion of the now famous 3-3-5 defense. But instead Hoosierteacher had some unusual items in front of him.
 
The other is the "for sale" fanpost   http://www.milehighreport.com/2011/2/3/1973097/for-sale-1982-ford-bronco.

While neither post is hard news, it is the way some of the MHR members mixed humor and stories.  Those are the types that I won't forget.

Tim: Search for Mayonnaise.

Conclusion:

Well there really are no conclusions, just don't waste time if you don't have to. Mile High Report is a fantastic reference on a lot of football topics, we have one of the most complete breakdowns on NFL trends, we have instructional posts on the nuances of defensive tackle play, we have just about everything here. So with these closing words, I leave you with this commitment, before you start a new post, type in the main topic into the search bar, or before you try and rely on your memory for how game 7 of the 2007 season went, look on the side tab, if you do this, you will save yourself more than time, you may also save yourself a visit to the bathroom or to the sink to get a drink of water.