Quintin Demps

THIRD IN POINTS. Sixth in yardage. Maybe the best young quarterback in the game. Just where the Eagles' defense stands will be better gauged come Sunday evening, after it faces a Packers offense that clicked beautifully for Aaron Rodgers last season. "This will be a great measuring stick," said Pro Bowl end Trent Cole. "It'll let us see just where we are as a defense. " The preseason would indicate that the Eagles' defense will be a strength. But that's just preseason.

We look at the Eagles and see more question marks than usual. Opposing coaches look and see giant bull's-eyes. Because of that, the early returns on Kevin Kolb, the offensive line, Nate Allen, Ernie Sims, and a bunch of other issues may be a little misleading. Even if Andy Reid and Co. are mostly right, it may take some time for that to be evident. If they're wrong, we'll probably know sooner. Because so much has been said and speculated about Kolb, let's start with Allen, the rookie safety who is expected to fill the hole vacated by Brian Dawkins.

THE OVER-UNDER on wins in the NFC East this year, from the people at Bodog, goes like this: Dallas. . . 10 Eagles. . . 8 Giants. . . 8 Redskins. . . 7 This seems fair. I've been saying 9-7 for the Eagles since the schedule came out and I'm still saying 9-7. What I don't get is the people who are worried about the bottom falling out. They won 11 games last season with a defense that couldn't stop anybody good, a defense that saw opposing offenses beat their season scoring averages in seven of their last nine games.

The Eagles signed tight end Garrett Mills, safety Chip Vaughn, and wide receiver Jeremy Williams on Monday, giving them the maximum of eight players on their practice squad. The 6-foot-1, 235-pound Mills was fourth-round pick by New England in 2006. He spent the last three seasons in Minnesota. He had seven catches for 91 yards in nine career games and spent a season on the practice squad. The addition of Mills means the Eagles probably have closed the book on Cornelius Ingram.

If there's room, Kelley Washington may have wormed his way onto the Eagles' 53-man roster Thursday night. The wide receiver was active on both offense and special teams in the first half of the Eagles' final preseason game against the New York Jets. Washington caught two passes for 18 yards and made the type of play on punt coverage that the eight-year veteran is known for. After the Jets held, punter Sav Rocca booted an end-over-end kick that landed inside the New York 5-yard line.

MACHO HARRIS can count, and he knows that getting moved from cornerback, where he'd played all spring and summer, back to safety for the final week of the preseason probably was not a great omen for his continued employment with the Eagles. Harris talked this week about the opportunity to "showcase my talent" in tonight's preseason finale against the visiting New York Jets. Translated, that means the rest of the NFL will see the film, and if last year's rookie starter at free safety is a victim when the Birds trim from 75 to 53 this weekend, he at least can enhance his chance of getting a job somewhere else.

BETHLEHEM - The great safety search has ended, with the signing yesterday afternoon of Anthony Scirrotto, formerly of Penn State and West Deptford (N.J.) High. Scirrotto was the lucky winner among four safeties who tried out over the past 2 days for the spot that opened up when Antoine Harris suffered a season-ending Lisfranc sprain Friday against Jacksonville. Of course, that's an 80-man roster spot, and Scirrotto now has to learn a new defense and climb over a whole bunch of bodies to make the 53-man group that faces the Green Bay Packers in the season opener, Sept.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Eagles running back Mike Bell , who only recently returned from a hamstring injury, had to be carted off the field again Sunday at Lehigh University, this time with a right calf strain. Bell appeared despondent when he emerged from the locker room after the morning practice, moving with a pronounced limp and talking politely to reporters but staring into the distance in obvious frustration. He has struggled with injuries throughout his career. "You put so much into it and something happens that you can't control, you kind of lose it," Bell said.

Finally, the moment arrived for rookie free safety Nate Allen. After learning the team's playbook and spending long hours on the practice field, seemingly all that was left was for the second-round pick to apply those lessons under the bright lights of Lincoln Financial Field against another NFL team. Allen came onto the field from the tunnel, looked around, and took in the atmosphere, appreciating all the effort that had led up to that moment. Then, after six plays with the first-team defense, he was done.

Quintin Demps injured his knee on the game's opening kickoff in the Eagles' 28-27 win over the Jaguars Friday night. Demps suffered a knee sprain and was on crutches after the game. Demps was filling in for cornerback Ellis Hobbs , who was given the night off from returning duties. Demps was slotted as the second-team strong safety, behind Nate Allen , but never had an opportunity to play on defense. The third-year safety has had a productive training camp thus far, according to coach Andy Reid , but may have to deal with another setback.