Vick has only played 16 games once in his career, turning the trick back in 2006. He missed three games as the Eagles starter last year and was knocked out of two others. There is a reason the coaches are drilling it into his head to choose health over an extra yard – the season rides on it.

The Eagles have brought in some competition for Chas Henry, announcing Wednesday morning that they’ve agreed to terms with Mat McBriar on a one-year deal.

Each morning during training camp, we’ll bring you the Eagles wake-up call with links and notes from Lehigh. Today’s version covers Vick vs. RGII, Howard Mudd on Demetress Bell, and a look at the Juan Castillo-Todd Bowles dynamic.

Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe ​worked out for the Eagles this week, but ended up heading north to join the New England Patriots.

Here are some practice observations from the first two days of training camp with rookies and selected veterans.

One guy who’s stuck out the last two days is rookie linebacker Mychal Kendricks. Kendricks tested out extremely well in just about every category at the combine, but he had an impressive college resume too, earning Pac-12 Player of the Year honors last season. We’ll have to wait and reserve judgement to see how he holds up against the run, but he looks to have good cover skills. Yesterday, he made a nice play on the ball while matched up against tight end Chase Ford. And he was step-for-step with fullback Stanley Havili down the sideline, forcing an incompletion out of bounds.

Earlier today, I wrote about Kendricks’ height, but in the afternoon, he leaped at the line of scrimmage and batted down a Mike Kafka screen pass. Obviously still a long way to go, but Kendricks looks good so far.

Veteran tight end Visanthe Shiancoe is currently negotiating with the Eagles and Patriots to figure out where he’ll spend the 2012 season, according to a report.

If the whole quarterbacking thing doesn’t work out, Michael Vick may be able to gain employment at Modell’s.

Funny video embedded below, as Vick goes undercover to promote his new clothing line. Enjoy.

Juan Castillo and Todd Bowles sat just a few feet from one another under the field-side tent Tuesday, one entertaining questions about the other during a media session with reporters.

It is easy to paint a picture where Bowles’ shadow creeps into Castillo’s personal space. He is the rising star, after all, the man coming off several head coaching interviews after taking over the Dolphins down the stretch of the 2011 season. The Temple alum was a defensive back  in the NFL for eight seasons, and has been coaching that side of the ball in the bigs since 2000. You get the sense that it is about his time.

We all know Castillo’s story and the tale of the lost season, where the defense had to put together  a late push just to finish 29^th in red zone success. There was a whole lot of learning on the job, and it cost them. Things improved down the stretch and the defense vaulted to eighth overall statistically. But if this team stumbles out of the gate, won’t this fan base be calling immediately for a changing of the guard?

In the first meeting against the Giants last season, Eagles quarterbacks Michael Vick and Mike Kafka combined to drop back to pass 35 times.

And on 28 of those occasions, Jason Peters was charged with blocking a defender one-on-one. No help from the tight end. No chip from the running back. Nothing.

That was one of the luxuries the Eagles had with Peters at left tackle. He could take on pass-rushers like Jason Pierre-Paul, DeMarcus Ware, and Brian Orakpo without much help.

But with Peters out, the focus is now on new left tackle Demetress Bell. When I asked offensive line coach Howard Mudd whether he planned on giving Bell some help, especially early in the season, he said he didn’t think that would be necessary.

As I mentioned in a previous post, linebacker Casey Matthews had a bizarre rookie season, beginning the season as a starter, getting benched and then eventually finding a role in the nickel package.

In the final four games, he played about 61 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. And according to linebackers coach Mike Caldwell, that’s when Matthews got his confidence back.

“The thing about Casey was he never sulked about it,” Caldwell said. “He understood, he continued to work hard and that hard work paid off. He played well on special teams, then he ended up getting his role in the third-down package, and he did a good job in that package, so now that confidence is back and he can build on that coming in this year.”

Training camp in Bethlehem has a most isolated feel, but Eagles coaches and players are certainly aware of the seismic news rumbling out of Penn State.

“It’s sad that certain people have to suffer in that situation,” said Michael Vick. “But the punishment that was imposed was imposed for a reason. Hopefully society will learn from this, and in years to come Penn State can bounce back. But as of right now they definitely have to deal with the verdict that was handed down.”

Looking for an Eagles fix during your lunch hour? After you’re done checking out Birds 24/7, tune in to PFT Live as Tim joins Mike Florio with the latest news out of training camp. He’s scheduled to be on around 12:25. As they say over at PFT, bang it here for the link.

A major question for the Eagles moving forward, now that they have locked up DeSean Jackson long-term, is whether the receiver looked squeamish going over the middle last year because of his contract situation, or because he is permanently scarred from the Dunta Robinson hit.

Each morning during training camp, we’ll bring you the Eagles wake-up call with links and notes from Lehigh. Today’s version covers Jeremy Shockey, LeSean McCoy and season predictions from the national media.

Howard Mudd has 37 years of NFL coaching experience, but he doesn’t want to have to do all the talking.

The Eagles’ offensive line coach encourages players to help each other out and critique themselves.

Which brings us to second-year guard Danny Watkins. The 2011 first-round pick had a shaky rookie season, filled with more downs than ups. Before the season, Watkins lost his starting job to Kyle DeVan, and when he eventually got on the field, he had his share of issues in pass protection.

So after the season, Mudd asked Watkins, and the team’s other offensive linemen, for a written self-evaluation. When he saw what Watkins had to say about his first year in the NFL, Mudd was impressed.