Is Vick still on board with the quarterback competition? Will DeSean be a distraction? This and more in the latest Twitter Mailbag.

When Chip Kelly first announced his staff back in February, he drew attention for appointing the league’s first sports science coordinator, Shaun Huls.

While Huls has not yet been made available to the media, there have been noticeable changes at the NovaCare Complex, from nutrition to sleep to training.

Kelly brought many of the ideas with him from Oregon, and a recent Grantland article sheds more light on the sports science angle.

Here is your running diary of Eagles practice observations from Wendesday’s session.

The Eagles have made changes to their scouting department. Here are the details.

Antonio Dixon is used to the pace and structure of the Eagles’ 11-on-11 team drills. He’s been participating in them all spring and knows what’s expected.

Jason Kelce, on the other hand, had been sitting out that portion of practice as he continued to recover from a torn ACL. But Tuesday, for the first time, Kelce lined up as the Eagles’ starting center, and he decided to go all out, mixing it up with Dixon on the very first snap.

“I think I was probably going a little bit harder than I should have in OTAs, and Antonio didn’t like it so we kind of got in a scuffle,” Kelce said with a laugh. “But it’s all good. We’ll be friends when we go back in there.”

It is difficult for Kenny Phillips to relay what is happening with him physically because he is going so much off of feel.

It’s been almost four years since he had microfracture surgery. He was told at the time that he would have to manage his left knee for the rest of his career, and so far that has proven to be true. His knee never swells up and his body never shuts down, he says, so there are no obvious signs to tell him when he needs to back off. But through trial and error, he’s learned that setbacks are lurking around the corner if he’s not careful, and has a sense for when he is getting close to the edge.

The red line is not defined, so the team must take their cues from the  player.

Here’s another running diary with Eagles practice observations from today’s session.

Cary Williams‘ session with reporters following Tuesday’s minicamp practice did not disappoint. His decision to to skip another voluntary OTA to attend his daughter’s dance recital last week drew some attention, mostly because he had just returned from a month-long absence.

Williams was blunt and unapologetic during a back and forth with the media outside the NovaCare Complex that lasted nearly 20 minutes.

Asked about holding joint practices with the Patriots, Chip Kelly said Bill Belichick approached him with the idea.

The Eagles’ head coach also downplayed the notion that he taught Michael Vick how to carry the football.

The Philadelphia Eagles have announced their training camp schedule, which includes five sessions at the Linc and two joint practices with the New England Patriots.

DeSean Jackson walked into Chip Kelly‘s office, wanting to know why he had been demoted.

It was early and it was all very new and veterans like Jackson were trying to figure out what their new head coach was all about. Curiosity turned to frustration when Jackson found himself in an unsettling position.

“There were times when I was going with the threes, times when I was going with the twos, things like that,” said Jackson in a one-on-one conversation with Birds 24/7. ” There was a point where I went into Chip Kelly’s office and talked to him face-to-face to see what was going on with that.”

The Eagles take the field today for the start of a three-day mandatory mini-camp at the NovaCare Complex. We’ll have it all covered with practice observations, interviews with players and more.

The session begins today at 12:40, but in the meantime, here are three things we’ll be watching.

The Eagles’ offensive line went from a strength in 2011 to a disaster in 2012. What’s in store going forward? Here’s the breakdown.

When Chris Polk watched tape last year, he didn’t like what he saw.

“I saw myself on film, like man I don’t look too good, especially with those tight-fitting jerseys,” Polk said. “I’ve got to shed a few pounds.”

And so he did.

Polk said he has dropped 15 pounds this offseason and is currently practicing at 215.

“That’s where I want to be at, especially with this high-paced offense,” Polk said. “You’ve got to make people miss and run in space, catch it. You’ve got to have your wind. So it was the best thing to really fit this scheme, get down lighter, be faster, get your wind up.”

Believe it or not, the players have been going a little too fast for Chip Kelly’s liking. At least for right now.

“It was very difficult for us as a team at first because we just felt like we had to do everything so fast,” Michael Vick told Fox 29. “And it took for Chip to call us into the auditorium in a team meeting to say, ‘Listen, everybody relax and slow down.’