In our continuing countdown of the best players to wear the New York Jets’ uniform, who was the best to wear number 95?
Over the last several days, we have been taking a trip back through New York Jets’ history. Though the team has only one title to its credit, the team has sported talent from the beginning From Don Maynard to Darrelle Revis and everyone in between, the Jets have a history of talented football players.
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We have been counting down, by jersey number, the best Jets ever to wear the uniform. We have had some easy choices, like number 99 and number 96. Now comes number 95 and it wasn’t one of those easy ones.
With names like Martin Tevaseu, Matt McChesney and Howard Green on the list, No. 95 took some thought. In the end, we came up with Rick Lyle.
Lyle came to the Jets in 1997 after seasons with the Browns and the Ravens. With the Bill Parcells/Bill Belichick era just beginning, Lyle took his place at starting left defensive end, and didn’t relinquish that position until 2001.
Not a flashy player, Lyle posted three sacks to go along with 42 total tackles during that first year in 1997. As he did in 1997, he started all 16 games in 1998, 41 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. In a late season game against the Panthers, Lyle combined with Anthony Pleasant to sack Steve Beuerlein to end a drive while the game was still close. It was 10-7 at the time, and the Jets scored on the very next drive en route to a 48-21 win.
In 1999, Parcells’ final year, Lyle posted 45 tackles and one sack. His one sack came at Giants’ stadium in a game against the Cardinals late in the third quarter. He ended a drive by taking down Dave Brown, and the Jets ended up winning the game late by a score of 12-7.
The Jets finished 8-8 that year and that ended Parcells’ time as the Jets’ coach.
The following year, Lyle played for Al Groh and posted a career-high 48 tackles, but again only one sack.
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Lyle’s final year with the Jets came in 2001, the beginning of the Herman “You Play to Win the Game” Edwards era. Edwards and his staff saw Lyle as a rotational player, relegating him to starting only three games. It seemed to work, as the tackle production only dropped to 40 tackles. He also posted a career-high in sacks with 3.5, including a 2.5 sack performance in a losing cause against the St. Louis Rams.
In the third quarter of a game against the Bills that year, Lyle posted a sack while the game was still within one score at 28-22. The Jets pulled ahead and held off a late surge by Buffalo to take the game by the score of 42-36.
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Lyle left New York to spend two years with the rival Patriots before the end of his career following the 2003 season.
Not all of these choices are going to be flashy ones. They can’t all be Mark Gastineau. But, out of a slim group, Lyle is the best Jets’ player ever to wear No. 95.