whose name remains on the Bills Wall of Fame, served nine years for arm

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Eagles have an identity crisis.After winning the first Super Bowl in franchise history Byron Murphy Jersey , coaches and players repeatedly stressed throughout the offseason and training camp this is a different team and a new year. They were no longer underdogs wearing dog masks. Winning titles was supposed to be their new norm.Players even went to coach Doug Pederson before the season and asked that a Super Bowl champions sign be removed from the locker room. They knew opponents would be giving their best effort and they embraced having a target on their backs so much it became a logo on a T-shirt players wore.But now after a 3-4 start, the Eagles are an afterthought in the NFC. The Rams are 7-0, the Saints are 5-1 and eight other teams also have better records. Pederson told the team in the locker room after blowing a 17-0 lead in a 21-17 loss to Carolina on Sunday that the pressure was off and everybody is counting them out again.Sounds like they’re trying to use underdog status as motivation again. So much for different team, new season.“I think part of it can be that,” Pederson said Monday when asked about turning to last year’s motivation tactics. “I think it’s an important part of kind of where we are, kind of the identity of the football team.“The other thing is, when you win games, we’re not talking about this stuff because winning cures everything, right? Well Andy Isabella Jersey , we’re not winning, so everything is exposed. Now we’re going to sit here and scrutinize every little thing. … We were actually making these plays a year ago. You know what I’m saying? So now we’re going to sit here and scrutinize everything and point the finger and point the blame game, and do all of that, when quite frankly, yeah, we can go back and use that as fuel, as emotion.“But it’s a different team, different year. We’re in this situation. We’ve kind of dug ourselves in a little bit of a hole.”The Eagles are right in the mix in the division behind the Redskins (4-2). The Cowboys are also 3-4. But winning the NFC East wasn’t the goal. They want to repeat as Super Bowl champions. It’s tough to do without a Nos. 1-2 seed in the playoffs. Twenty of the past 28 winners had a first-round bye. Only 12 teams have reached the Super Bowl as a Nos. 3-6 seed since the NFL instituted the current playoff format in 1990.“The great thing about where we are is we still control our division,” Pederson said. “A lot of things can happen. We got a break coming up after an important game this week Zach Allen Jersey , got a break. Hopefully we get some guys healthy second half of the season. We’ll see where we’re at.”The Eagles meet another struggling team in London this week when they play the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4).“We’re going to find out what we’re made of now going forward,” quarterback Carson Wentz said. “We’re at make-or-break time, almost. It’s hard to say exactly what it’s going to take. Again, we know what we can do, we do it here and there some weeks, but we just have to put it all together.” ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — After adding a haul of players from other teams in free agency, the Buffalo Bills are rewarding one of their own.The Bills signed top pass rusher Jerry Hughes to a two-year contract extension Tuesday that will keep the defensive end in Buffalo through 2021. Hughes’ contract was set to expire after the upcoming season.A person with direct knowledge of the contract told The Associated Press that Hughes will be guaranteed about $19 million, and could make as much as $23 million should he meet all the incentives. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Bills did not release the contract’s value.“It feels good to have an organization Hakeem Butler Jersey , an owner, a GM and a head coach that really believes in you and is really excited for me to be back here in this building with the team,” Hughes said.Hughes, 30, has come a long way in his time in Buffalo, going from discarded afterthought to premier pass rusher.After being chosen 31st overall by the Indianapolis Colts in 2010, Hughes’ first three years in the league with Indianapolis were a disappointment. He was traded to Buffalo in April 2013 for linebacker Kelvin Sheppard and immediately broke out in Buffalo, posting back-to-back 10-sack seasons.Though Hughes has yet to match those sack totals over the past four seasons, he’s been a consistent and dominant presence off the edge for Buffalo Chris Lindstrom Jersey , drawing double teams and harassing opposing quarterbacks.“Watching him develop off the field and then watching him trying to take his game to another level, I’ve enjoyed that,” McDermott said. “We are excited about it.”With the Bills, Hughes has 42 sacks and 280 tackles from 2013-18. He has 47 sacks in his career.“It’s awesome. Jerry’s one of the best guys in the locker room,” quarterback Josh Allen said. “He’s a leader for us. The intensity that he brings every day is through the roof. so I’m glad he got a deal done, glad we got him for a couple more years locked down. I think everybody in the locker room will say the same thing.”NOTES: For the first time in 42 years, the Bills have a player wearing O.J. Simpson’s former No. 32. Running back Senorise Perry wore the jersey number at Buffalo’s spring practices this week. Simpson, whose name remains on the Bills Wall of Fame, served nine years for armed robbery and assault after confronting two sports collectibles dealers at a Las Vegas casino hotel in September 2007. The Pro Football Hall of Famer was acquitted of two counts of murder in the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife and her friend Ron Goldman http://www.lionsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jahlani-tavai-jersey , but a civil court jury found him liable for wrongful death and ordered him to pay $33.5 million. … Former Bills center Eric Wood was hired as the team’s new radio analyst. He replaces former Bills safety Mark Kelso. Wood, a first-round pick of the Bills in 2009, spent nine years with the team before he was forced to retire due to a neck injury. “I’m excited to be back in Buffalo a whole lot more, excited to be affiliated with the team again,” Wood said. “I’m really excited for the challenge that this is going to present to try and pursue something else and try and be great at something else.”