The left guard position was one of Buffalo’s most stable positions during their playoff drought. For 13 seasons of the drought (over 200 games), just four players made appearances at left guard. These three gifted blockers started most of those games, and the difference between them and the players who replaced them was night and day on the football field.
Ruben Brown
Brown is one of the most decorated players in Buffalo Bills history. He played nine seasons for Buffalo, and went to the Pro Bowl in eight of them. Though his career began in 1995, from 2000 through 2003, he played four Pro Bowl seasons at left guard for the Bills. He was named second-team All-Pro in 2000 and 2002. During the drought era, he started 63 games on Buffalo’s offensive line.
Andy Levitre
A second-round pick in the 2009 draft, Levitre was one half of a rookie line duo that started from day one. During a time when Buffalo’s line was plagued with injuries, Levitre was an iron man, starting 64 consecutive games for the team over four seasons. Levitre was a mainstay at left guard, but when the roster’s health woes came to a head, he filled in at left tackle a few times and even made an emergency appearance at center. The Bills elected to let Levitre leave in free agency after his rookie deal ended, and he signed a five-year, $39 million contract with the Tennessee Titans.
Richie Incognito
Incognito made his first appearance with the Bills in 2009, as a late-season waiver replacement for Eric Wood, who was placed on injured reserve with a broken leg. At the time, he had a reputation as an athletic but dirty player who was difficult to coach, and Buffalo moved on at the end of the year. Following his bullying incident with the Dolphins and a year out of the league, the Bills chose to give him another chance in 2015, making him their starting left guard. Incognito started the final three seasons of the drought and made the Pro Bowl in each of them. Pro Football Focus also named him a first-team All-Pro in 2015. In his Bills career, he started 51 games.
Voting time! Who was the best left guard during Buffalo’s playoff drought? Make your selection, and tomorrow we’ll talk about Buffalo’s offensive centers.
Poll
Who was the best left guard of the Buffalo Bills playoff drought?
This poll is closed
-
72%
Ruben Brown
-
10%
Andy Levitre
-
16%
Richie Incognito