After last week's loss to the Sydney Swans, Hird said he was surprised by the emphatic nature of the win against the Saints at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The Bombers led for the entire game against St Kilda - and had seven multiple goalkickers - and Hird said he could sense early that his players had fine-tuned areas which led to the loss the previous week.
""I think it surprised us all, really, bouncing back after a loss to Sydney that could have gone either way; but I'm just pleased the boys bounced back and didn't go into their shells because you never know what's going to happen after a loss like that,"" Hird said after the match.
""Today's performance was extremely pleasing for the Essendon supporters and members and also the people inside the club.""
""You can just see the guys learning every week, and that was the most pleasing thing about tonight. There were some things we didn't do in Sydney that we wanted to improve on, and they (the players) got those right early,"" he said.
One of those things was clearances, which the Bombers rectified against the Saints, winning 44-32, which also led to three goals kicked from stoppages.
""Goals from stoppages are a real bonus and it's hard to get goals from stoppages, but it means you are putting good forward pressure on when you're getting them,"" Hird said.
""We got beaten in the clearances last week, and that was a big area that we focused on during the week, and it is very pleasing to get that right.""
Though clearly delighted with the development of his players, Hird was quick to make sure they would not get ahead of themselves despite beating two of last year's top-four sides in a stunning start to the season.
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""The reality is that Essendon beat Western Bulldogs and St Kilda pretty early last season as well, so the thing for us is consistency of performance,"" he said.
""In six days time we play Carlton and we need to perform to that level to give ourselves a chance. Unless we do that, we'll always be seen as a club who has really good highs, but pretty big lows as well.""
After the dominant performance of Tom Bellchambers in the ruck – the 21-year-old had 12 disposals, 41 hit-outs and kicked one goal – Hird said he would have no qualms about playing three ruckman (Bellchambers, Patrick Ryder and David Hille) against the Blues next week if Hille is considered fit.
""I'd have no issue playing all three. Paddy gives you great flexibility of playing forward and back and so does David, whereas Tom is more of a traditional ruckman. We'd have no hesitation playing all three if all three deserved a game,"" he said.
""We've got to be a little bit careful with David. He's had a slow pre-season and has only played two games back before he got that slight injury. He's every chance to play (next week) and it'd be interesting to play all three of them.""
