Listen, Ruben Brown was one of the biggest headaches the Bills have ever had. He had so many positives and so many negatives to his game and off the field that it became ridiculous.
For the first 2 years in the NFL Ruben was flat out dominant. It was then that he earned is official Pro Bowl selections. Everything after that point was average. His false starts, and losing weight made him non deserving as being called one of the best LG's in the game. I clearly remember everyone around Buffalo bitching that he never deserved those other years being selected, and that the selections were a joke because it was based more on popularity rather than play. Who really pays attention to Left Guards in every game to determine who is good anyways? It's all hearsay. Now we are defending his play.
Now, 5 years later, we all know that Tom Donahoe and Gregg Williams were jokes. At the time however, a player speaking out against a Head Coach should never occur. Veteran, rookie, whomever. It splits the lockeroom and he became the ringleader for the rebelous acts against the coaching that year. It was wrong, he was wrong, you take those concerns directly to the coach through personal contact, not through the media or refusing to play on the field. That is not leadership.
Lastly, the Bills organization failing to replace the LG spot does not make Ruben's time here any better than it was. Just because we have neglected our O-Line doesnt mean that Ruben is a Hall of Famer. Ruben was old, slim, and it was his time to go.