Todd Herremans

What a difference a few months make. After a toxic 2011, Andy Reid and the Eagles management have restored a sense of optimism and hope around their team. Even the loudest Reid critic should be impressed with what the Eagles have done the last two months, including the draft that just unfolded. "It's a positive thing. When you're around the team right now you feel that," Reid said Saturday, wearing a signature Hawaiian shirt. "I think they're excited to get going. " For anyone else it would be a bit early for short-sleeves with a tropical motif, but as the weather warms and the Eagles' barren January fades in the distance, the team once again looks great in the offseason.

THE LEAST popular thing the Eagles could do in the first round of the draft Thursday night would be to select an offensive lineman. But it also might be the smartest thing they could do. By the end of last season, the Eagles' offensive line was one of the top performing units on the team. Jason Peters was the best left tackle in the league. Todd Herremans had made a silky-smooth switch from left guard to right tackle. Rookie center Jason Kelce was playing like a seasoned veteran and drawing comparisons to five-time Pro Bowler Jeff Saturday.

Jason Peters underwent surgery to repair his ruptured right Achilles tendon, the Eagles said Tuesday. The surgery was performed by Steve Ralkin of the Rothman Institute at Jefferson Hospital in the Navy Yard. Peters injured himself on March 27 while working out in Texas. The Eagles have not set a timetable for the all-pro left tackle's return, but recovery from an Achilles injury takes on average about nine months. The team has already begun to search for a replacement, bringing in free agent Demetrius Bell for a visit last weekend.

EAGLE TODD HERREMANS loves golf so much that he traveled to Los Angeles for a tournament. Did we mention it was the Playboy Golf Finals, which kicked off with an opening reception at the Playboy Mansion? Herremans represented the Eagles and competed against Rob Gronkowski of the Patriots, Michael Richardson of the Seahawks, comedian Josh Wolf and some cast members from Bravo's "Shahs of Sunset. " Herremans, who is reportedly dating April 2010 Playmate Amy Leigh Andrews , hung out with Miss May 2007 Shannon James , of Bucks County, who recently split from Phillies outfielder Hunter Pence , and Miss August 2004 Pilar Lastra at the Playboy Golf Finals Pajama and Lingerie Party at the Playboy Mansion.

He came, he saw, he left without a contract. Demetrius Bell was still a free agent when he departed Philadelphia after visiting with the Eagles over the weekend. The left tackle has met with four teams, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals, and Green Bay Packers, since the start of free agency last month. But he remains on the market even though the Eagles were scrambling to find a starting left tackle after Jason Peters suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon last week.

Suddenly, the Eagles have a fire burning on their front lawn. It had been a smooth and serene offseason for the team, the to-do list meticulously crossed off one by one until all that seemed left to do was kick back, watch some game film, and try to bolster a solid roster in the draft. Then came Friday's news that Jason Peters, their Pro Bowl left tackle, one of the Eagles' two best players in 2011 along with LeSean McCoy, had ruptured his Achilles tendon, probably ending his season.

DURING MUCH of the Andy Reid era, the offensive line has been an orderly kind of place, excepting the occasional anomaly, such as the great Shawn and Stacy Andrews adventure of 2009. Then last year, Reid brought in Howard Mudd as his offensive-line coach, and training camp suddenly took on a different tone. Befuddled rookies and brand-new free agents milled about, crashing into one another and nearly getting Michael Vick killed a couple of times in the chaotic preseason. Solid vets such as Jamaal Jackson, Winston Justice and Mike McGlynn, once prized by o-line-coach-turned-defensive-coordinator Juan Castillo, weren't deemed capable of starting under Mudd.

There have been helicopters tracking Peyton Manning and secret workouts at Duke University. There has been $132 million devoted to a man they call Megatron. Ticket sales have erupted in Buffalo. And in the first few days of free agency, the NFL's summer shopping spree has played out on Twitter, the instantaneous medium seemingly made for the event - delivering information, signings, and updates (sometimes accurate, sometimes not; sometimes pertinent, sometimes not) as fast as you can consume them.

The ball is in Evan Mathis' court. The free-agent guard has contract offers from both the Eagles and Ravens, but it was unclear Friday which team had the best deal - monetarily - on the table. The Eagles made a "competitive" offer, according to a league source. It's safe to say it was enticing, otherwise Mathis wouldn't have left Baltimore after his two-day visit with the Ravens without a new deal. Right now, it appears he has only two alternatives. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, could pit the Eagles and Ravens against each other for another few rounds of back and forth, but that game can only be played out for so long.