Virginia LB Ahmad Brooks To Visit 49ers For Physical June 28th - Dolphins Interested Too

This is from the 49ers / Scout message board

"Scot McCloughan will be on hand when former Virginia linebacker Ahmad Brooks works out for scouts Thursday in Charlottesville, Va.

Brooks will then fly to the Bay Area on June 28 and have a physical with the 49ers the next day.

[Sacramento Bee]

Really hope we go after this guy. Will be the next Ray Lewis."

Here's the report on Miami's interest:

Dolphins GM meets with linebacker Ahmad Brooks

BY JASON COLE - MIAMI HERALD

jcole@MiamiHerald.com
The Dolphins have taken an interest in former University of Virginia linebacker Ahmad Brooks, who is considered by many the top player available in the NFL's supplemental draft on July 13.

Dolphins general manager Randy Mueller and director of college scouting Ron Labadie were among those who attended Brooks' workout Thursday.

Mueller and Labadie met with Brooks after the workout.

In addition, the Dolphins sent Brooks to Michigan last week to meet with Lon Rosen, a psychologist and longtime friend of Dolphins coach Nick Saban, agent Greg Williams said Friday.

Rosen does character research on players for Saban.

Williams also said he presented information to scouts, coaches and executives in attendance, showing that Brooks has passed drug tests taken on a regular basis over the past two months. Williams acknowledged that Brooks had ''issues'' with drug use during college.

Brooks was arrested in March 2003 on a marijuana possession charge.

According to two sources, Brooks failed multiple drug tests for marijuana use during college.

That led to the school's dismissal of him from the team this winter.

''Ahmad knows that he has to make good decisions in the future and change the people he hangs out with if he's going to take advantage of the athletic talent he has,'' Williams said. ``He's a good kid who wants to get this turned around and be an example to kids about how someone can change for the better.''

Brooks weighed 260 pounds, down approximately 30 pounds from two months ago. The weight issue is another question for NFL teams.

Brooks was considered one of the top high school players in Virginia history before going to college.

Some scouts have said he has the talent to be a first-round pick.

However, the off-field issues could drop Brooks into the fourth or fifth round of the supplemental draft.

This You Tube Video From Emmalina Gets Seen - Alot

Why is this video -- and all of her videos -- so popular? Perhaps you can offer some views.

San Francisco 49ers Family Day

San Francisco 49ers Family Day

Click to Play

The San Francisco 49ers hold an event called "Family Day" annually to kick off the start of the NFL training camp period and the football season. Family Day's been held at a variety of venues, from Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco's Financial District, to Kezar Stadium, and now Monster Park, where the team plays.

I must admit I was skeptical that the stadium was the best place for it, but the Niners organization did a real good job of mixing activities with players and locker room tours. The event -- which went from 11 to 3 PM -- was a lot of fun. The weather was super, and there was a feeling of optimism in the air.

Many people believe the 49ers will be better this year, even if the team's won/loss record is just eight-and-eight. In this video, I get to interview KNBR and 49ers commentator Joe Starkey, who's best known for his dramatic call of "The Play" in 1982.

I also present NFL alums like Steve Kinney and Jeff Bayer, the Gold Rush Cheerleaders, and poke my camera in on various goings on, from 49ers First Round Draft Pick Vernon Davis' playing with a little girl running the 40-yard dash, to the sudden collapse of a very long fence as Manny Lawson, the Second Pick In The First Round's clowning with a young fan.

On the matter of how the event could be improved for next year, one way is to better use the jumbotron screen. At this year's family day there were videos posted from someone running around with a camera. Frankly, not many people paid attention to it. What's better is to have scenes from the 49ers great moments of the past: "The Catch," Steve Young's famous weaving touchdown run in against the Vikings 1988, and other plays.

Another improvement is to have each 49ers player wear polo shirt with their name and jersey number on their left chest. See, causal fans only know the players in uniform. At family day, as one person in the video remarked, many people don't know who the players are.

Another problem was that fans were not informed of the "bag rule" where bags, purses, and backpacks that were below a certain size were not allowed to be brought in. I personally saw one family fall victim to this information as we were standing in line to get in. The mother elected to stand in line, while the father and daughter ran back to the car. Not good.

But in general, the event was a success. I think Monster Park was a great place to have it.

Formats available: Quicktime (.mov), Flash Video (.flv)

This video was originally shared on blip.tv by zennie2005 with a Creative Commons Attribution license.

San Francisco 49ers Family Day - Event Provides Fun With Niners Draft Picks

San Francisco 49ers Family Day - Event Provides Fun With Niners Draft Picks

Watch the video

The San Francisco 49ers hold an event called "Family Day" annually to kick off the start of the NFL training camp period and the football season. Family Day's been held at a variety of venues, from Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco's Financial District, to Kezar Stadium, and now Monster Park, where the team plays.

I must admit I was skeptical that the stadium was the best place for it, but the Niners organization did a real good job of mixing activities with players and locker room tours. The event -- which went from 11 to 3 PM -- was a lot of fun. The weather was super, and there was a feeling of optimism in the air.

Many people believe the 49ers will be better this year, even if the team's won/loss record is just eight-and-eight. In this video, I get to interview KNBR and 49ers commentator Joe Starkey, who's best known for his dramatic call of "The Play" in 1982.

I also present NFL alums like Steve Kinney and Jeff Bayer, the Gold Rush Cheerleaders, and poke my camera in on various goings on, from 49ers First Round Draft Pick Vernon Davis' playing with a little girl running the 40-yard dash, to the sudden collapse of a very long fence as Manny Lawson, the Second Pick In The First Round's clowning with a young fan.

On the matter of how the event could be improved for next year, one way is to better use the jumbotron screen. At this year's family day there were videos posted from someone running around with a camera. Frankly, not many people paid attention to it. What's better is to have scenes from the 49ers great moments of the past: "The Catch," Steve Young's famous weaving touchdown run in against the Vikings 1988, and other plays.

Another improvement is to have each 49ers player wear polo shirt with their name and jersey number on their left chest. See, causal fans only know the players in uniform. At family day, as one person in the video remarked, many people don't know who the players are.

Another problem was that fans were not informed of the "bag rule" where bags, purses, and backpacks that were below a certain size were not allowed to be brought in. I personally saw one family fall victim to this information as we were standing in line to get in. The mother elected to stand in line, while the father and daughter ran back to the car. Not good.

But in general, the event was a success. I think Monster Park was a great place to have it.

This video was originally shared on blip.tv by zennie2005 with a Creative Commons Attribution license.

Getting Closer to Training Camps

It only took us 6 weeks to catch our Breath from the 2006 NFL draft and Guess what?
Here comes the Supplemental draft. July 13th will be the day where players who were ineligible for selection in the regular draft will have a chance to get on an NFL roster. This Draft is not open to un-allocated players from NFL Europe, or former CFL or Arena league players. Some names you might hear-or might not, in three weeks are:
Former U.S. Marine and University of Texas FB Ahmad Hall. Hall Played his HS Ball at Angelton Texas alongside of current S.D. Charger DB Quiten Jammer. Hall is a Combat Veteran of the war in Iraq, but managed to get back to school in time to help the Longhorns "Hook" themselvs a National title.
Another possible player candidate is former Iowa St. DE/LB Jason Berryman. The 6'-1"-235 pounder runs a 4.72 in the 40, 7.38 in the 3 cone drill, has a 32 inch vertical leap, and a 9'11" Broad jump. He also did 17 reps at 225 pounds. Those are his Pro day stats from earlier this month. Not only were several NFL teams' scouts present, but GB Packers Director of College scouting John Dorsey ran the Workout.

Other possible selections are. University of Virginia LB Ahmad Brooks, and Hutchinson C.C. of Kan LB David Dixon.

In some Front Office News- Many in the Press this past week are singing the praises of new Jets Head coach Eric Mangini as Possibly the best new coach in the NFL. I'm not sure how you can base that on two mini-camps, but lets not forget his supporting cast-a Scouting staff that remained unchanged from the prior regime, including former GM Terry Bradway back in the scouting dept. Many suspect that Bradway is only hanging on until the end of his contract or his next job offer, but a source close to Weeb Eubank Hall tells this reporter that While Bradway had little input if any in developing the jets draft board, he was key in generating the scouting reports.

Moving south to Carolina, The Panthers are looking for a new director of college scouting, but might not have to look far. They could tap one of their own in Jeff Morrow, their national scout. Morrow has been around the game of football for awhile, and would be a solid choice for the promotion.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS MOVE TRAINING CAMP TO MILLSAPS COLLEGE

Press release printed as presented on NFLMedia.com

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS MOVE TRAINING CAMP TO MILLSAPS COLLEGE

For Immediate Release: June 22, 2006

The New Orleans Saints announced at a morning press conference that they will hold their 2006 summer training camp on the campus of Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. The press conference was attended by Saints Owner Tom Benson,
Executive Vice-President/Owner Rita Benson LeBlanc, Executive Vice-President/General Manager Mickey Loomis, Millsaps
President Dr. Frances Lucas, along with Saints Running Backs Deuce McAllister and Fred McAfee. The Saints have held
training camp at the teams Metairie training facility for the last three years.

Jackson will be the sixth different site for training camp since Benson purchased the team in 1985. The team has held camp in Ruston, La. (1985), Hammond, La. (1986-87), La Crosse, Wis. (1988-99), Thibodaux, La. (2000-02) and Metairie, La. (2003-05).

The players will be allowed to report to campus on July 27th with practice beginning the next day. The team will remain in
Jackson until their preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 26 at 6 p.m.

Millsaps College is an NCAA Division III school with a student enrollment of 1,123 undergraduate. The scenic campus, located just north of downtown Jackson, will offer the team multiple natural grass fields for practice along with a Sprinturf field, similar to the field used in the Louisiana Superdome.

NFL Network Annouces Agreement With Cable Companies - NFLMedia.com

Press release presented as written by the NFL.

GAMES ON!
75 DISTRIBUTORS INK DEALS TO CARRY NFL NETWORK ON EXPANDED
BASIC RIGHTS INCLUDE AIRING OF NFL NET'S PRIMETIME GAMES

NFL Network announced today the completion of 75 affiliation agreements with cable companies to carry the 24-hour, year-round football channel from the National Football League -- including the rights to air its primetime regular season games this fall.

All of the deals are for the "expanded basic" level of service, meaning the most broadly distributed package the video provider offers. All distributors will also get to carry NFL Network's exclusive national slate of 52 preseason games as well as benefit from the ability to sell ads in programming targeted to America’s most
avid fans, NFL fans.

Cable operators are signing up at a torrid pace since NFL Network became the exclusive home to the new primetime regular season NFL games package and announced that Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth would be the Network's primary broadcast team.

NFL Network will televise 168 football games in 2006, including preseason, regular season, game re-airs, NFL Europe League, the Insight Bowl and Senior Bowl games, in addition to the most robust and popular sports Video-On-Demand content in the industry.

"We have had terrific partnerships with the distributors who have been carrying NFL Network the past two years," said Brian Decker, NFL Network's vice president, national accounts. "They recognize the value proposition NFL Network offers and the opportunities an association with the NFL presents, so these newcomers to NFL Network will begin to see immediate benefits to being part of our team."

These new and existing NFL Network distributors have received significant advertising inventory during each NFL Net game telecast. This telecast time represents some of the most valuable and sought after advertising opportunities in cable. NFL games accounted for 9 of the 10 most watched basic cable programs in 2005 and NFL football has been the No. 1 rated series on cable for 19 consecutive years -- since its inception in 1987.

With the creation of the new primetime Thursday/Saturday package of games -- the first new NFL game package in sixteen years -- the cable industry is in a position to reap substantial benefits.

NFL Network plans nearly 2,000 hours of original programming in the coming year, including 52 preseason games, 75 game re-airs, 8 primetime games, plus the expansion of programming including a half-dozen series in the fall.

NFL Network airs seven days a week, 24 hours a day on a year-round basis and is the first television network fully dedicated to the NFL and the sport of football. For more information, log onto

NFL Network