Quintin Mikell

Each week, Daily News football writer Paul Domowitch tells you the things he will keep his eyes on during that week's game. Here is how things panned out last night: 1. Hitting Warner. The Eagles were hoping to put Kurt Warner on the ground early and often. That didn't happen, although the Eagles did pressure him into two early picks, one that led to a touchdown. Warner rebounded nicely, though, on that 11-play, 81-yard drive that led to the Cards' first score. 2. Slumping McNabb.

Lehigh dean of athletics Joe Sterrett said yesterday that school officials and the Eagles have decided to make the call around mid-June on the viability of holding 2011 training camp in Bethlehem, where it has taken place every year since 1996. Previously, Sterrett had said Lehigh would like to know what's up by early June, so the school could schedule a sports festival or something to fill the gap if the Eagles weren't going to use their late-July through mid-August dates because of the NFL lockout.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Anthony Scirrotto could not ignore the signs that his dream of playing professional football could go unfulfilled. When NFL teams stopped calling about workouts, the former Penn State safety moved on with his life. He started working for his father's construction company. He helped coach the football program at his old high school, West Deptford. Then he enrolled at Temple to finish course work for his Penn State degree. "I had my doubts, especially because I went a long time without having a workout or even a look," the 23-year-old Scirrotto said.

REMEMBER WHEN this Eagles season was going to be all about trying to match up with the Cowboys? Almost a full year ago, they played two games in the brand-new Jerrydome in Arlington, Texas, 6 days apart. The Eagles went in 11-4, thinking about the Super Bowl. They exited 11-6, their season done after the first round of the playoffs. Cumulative score was 58-14. An offseason of dramatic change ensued, after Eagles president Joe Banner spoke of the need to close a "gap" between the teams.

As he lay on the Superdome turf, his first career interception in his hands, Eagles rookie Stewart Bradley had to be reminded by fellow linebacker Chris Gocong that he was no longer playing in college and could get up and run if the opposition hadn't hit him. "At least I didn't spike it, right?" Bradley said. "I think there's, what, 53 guys out there? And 52 of them were like 'Dude, I'm so glad you didn't spike the ball.' " That Gocong, in his second season, was among the old heads against the New Orleans Saints showed how patchwork the Eagles' defense was. Already without starters Takeo Spikes and Sean Considine, the Eagles lost safety Brian Dawkins and starting middle linebacker Omar Gaither to injuries.

The players responsible for a rare highlight in the Eagles' dismal season last year would rather not be reminded about it. The game-winning play that fans and reporters typically talk about involving Matt Ware and Quintin Mikell was just about the only reason Eagles fans had to cheer last season. But the two players are ready to move on and create more memories. "That play was a gift and a curse," Mikell said. "It was a great play, and we were able to help the team win and it was a wonderful victory.

THERE IS a pretty orderly life cycle for a good NFL player: make the team, begin to contribute, become a starter, begin to get noticed around the league. That is where Quintin Mikell is, at the getting-noticed stage. In his first full season as the Eagles' starting strong safety, Mikell has quietly had a very, very good year. On a defense that has pretty much been rebuilt on the fly in the last couple of seasons, his development stands out. Strong safeties are not big-money guys or big-attention guys, but they are among the league's more versatile defensive laborers.

Several Eagles players have professionally framed copies of a group photo sitting inside their lockers. The wide, panoramic-style picture features Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson, Asante Samuel, David Akers, Quintin Mikell and Colt Anderson, all in suits. They were the team captains for the Eagles wild-card game against the Packers in January. That's four regular Pro Bowlers, along with Mikell, a veteran leader on last year's team. And then there's Anderson, a special teamer who had spent the first eight weeks of the season on the Vikings practice squad yet was a captain for the Eagles biggest game of the year.

One player returns, another goes down. It's been that kind of season for the Eagles' secondary, and it's a pattern that will continue Sunday when they play the Redskins in Landover, Md. The Eagles placed strong safety Sean Considine on injured reserve yesterday. Considine suffered a season-ending injury to his left shoulder during Monday night's 38-17 loss to Dallas. It's the same shoulder Considine had surgically repaired after it was dislocated in a game against the Cowboys on Nov. 14, 2005.

It is the nature of the profession that a cornerback chooses. He can win 45 plays against his opponent, but the four or five times he loses are the ones that people remember. Yesterday, the Eagles' cornerbacks won most of the matchups against New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress. But Burress, an Eagles killer from way back, broke through too many times, catching seven passes for 136 yards and the Giants' only touchdown of the day. The 20-yard pass put New York ahead for good en route to a 16-13 victory at Lincoln Financial Field.