The Buffalo Bills had an open competition at left guard during training camp to replace Andy Levitre, who departed through free agency.
After cycling several players through the position, fourth-year veteran Colin Brown was tabbed as the starter. He started all four preseason games and continued in that role for Sunday's loss to the New England Patriots.
But according to ProFootballFocus.com, which grades every player on each play, Brown finished with the worst aggregate grade
of any in the NFL for Week 1.
When people said that the Bills' left guard spot was a problem area, they weren't lying, were they? Brown beat out Doug Legursky for the starting job (which isn't the hardest thing in the world to do) and promptly did his best to force his coaches to reconsider their decision. In a week that saw some terrible guard play, his took pride of place, giving up a hit and three hurries and being punished against the run. If you could see our grading sheet, you'd see a lot of "stood up at point of attack" next to the name of Brown, who was no match for Vince Wilfork.
If the Bills agree with the assessment -- it's worth noting that head coach Doug Marrone has a background as offensive-line coach and continues to work closely with that unit in practice -- they have few other options.
Legursky remains on the active roster but is out indefinitely with a knee injury. That leaves the Bills without a traditional backup guard/center option. Buffalo's lone reserve options on the offensive line are Sam Young and Thomas Welch, whose backgrounds are mostly at tackle.
