Howard Mudd On Vick, Kelce, Bell & Watkins

The Eagles let loose their offensive staff today for a series of press conferences and while we'll highlight others a bit later, there's really only one guy you must hear from right?

Howard Mudd.

Mudd is refreshingly honest and more or less doesn't play PR games or give you coachspeak. He says what he thinks and we love him for it.

On Michael Vick learning to fight his natural instinct to run.

"He wants to and works really hard to overcome his instinct, when a little something goes wrong, to take off," Mudd said. "Just take off and create something. So he's working really hard to do all these things that everybody's writing about - to go take care of himself so he doesn't get hurt."

"I would wish that he doesn't think that he has to take on more than his part," Mudd said. "Don't do it. Don't get hurt. And if somebody's loose he knows that if he's got problems -- like up front because the pocket collapses -- he knows those guys are getting coached very hard."

I suppose being "coached very hard" means "I'll chew them out if they let anyone get near you."

On new LT Demetress Bell

"Oh, gosh, well he is miles ahead of where everyone was last year when they walked in here. [Last year] I had sent [the players] a video before the lockout. I gave them a video of drills and Indianapolis stuff and said, ‘I want you to look like this, look at the left guard, that's what I want you to look like.' So he's got a big advantage learning the techniques from the OTAs. When we say we want you to do the following things. He may not be able to execute it yet but he knows what it is. That's the big thing about the offseason. That's what the offseason is for. For me anyway it is learning the drills so that when we apply them in training camp, the execution is better. You now have a reference point."

On last year's 1st round pick Danny Watkins

"Comfort in the position and limiting doubt about himself. That tends to happen to players. That is part of the growing process. I call that the ‘Valley of Darkness.' You get somewhere and then you start doubting yourself and then the ball is snapped and you don't have a clue where you are. You can be very amateurish. Then things start to click. Then all of a sudden you get there. That is what the offseason is for. I think he is well on his way. It's the ‘it' thing and he is starting to get ‘it.'"

And finally on the relationship and changing roles of Jason Kelce & Michael Vick

"Jason is probably taking on more than he had before. I think Mike trusts that more than he did last year. By that I am saying Jason now understands the scheme so he goes up and says something to declare the pattern we are going to use. Then Mike may even be thinking about something else and will ask Kelce or he will change it. The synergy is way better now because of trust. Kelce has now gone through the war and now Mike knows that Kelce is doing something now only to help us. I think that is a big deal."