Marty Lyons Martin Anthony Lyons ( born January 15 , 1957 ) is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League for eleven seasons during the 1970s and 1980s . Lyons played college football for the University of Alabama , and earned All - American honors . Selected in the first round of the 1979 NFL Draft , he played his entire professional career for the NFL ' s New York Jets . He was a member of the Jets ' famed " New York Sack Exchange , " the team ' s dominant front four in 1981 and 1982 that also featured Mark Gastineau , Abdul Salaam and Joe Klecko . Early years . Lyons grew up in Pinellas Park , Florida and attended St . Petersburg Catholic High School . College career . Lyons attended the University of Alabama , where he played for coach Bear Bryant ' s Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1975 to 1978 . At Alabama , he had 202 tackles , 6 fumbles forced and 4 recovered . As a senior in 1978 , he was recognized as a consensus first - team All - American , and helped lead the Crimson Tide to a National Championship in 1978 . He was a key player in the set of fourth quarter plays known as " The Goal Line Stand " in the 1979 Sugar Bowl . It was Lyons that delivered what would become a famous line amongst Alabama fans just before the fourth - down play of the sequence . When asked by Penn State quarterback Chuck Fusina how far the ball was from the goal line , Lyons replied , " ' Bout a foot . You better pass . " Alabama was 31 - 5 during his years as a player . Professional career . Lyons was drafted by the New York Jets in the first round ( 14th overall pick ) of the 1979 NFL Draft . The following round , the Jets selected East Central Oklahoma State defensive end Mark Gastineau . The two joined Joe Klecko and Abdul Salaam on the Jets ' defensive line to form one of the top defensive lines in the NFL , known as the " New York Sack Exchange . " The four combined for 66 sacks in 1981 which helped propel the Jets to their first playoff berth since 1969 . In November 1981 , Salaam , Gastineau , Klecko and Lyons were invited to ring the ceremonial opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange that served as the inspiration for their nickname . The Jets made the playoffs again in 1982 , 1985 , and 1986 during Lyons ' tenure with the team . In 1982 , they made it as far as the AFC Championship Game , losing 14 - 0 to the Miami Dolphins . Lyons was involved in one of the best - known plays in NFL lore . During the Jets ' 14 - 13 victory over the Buffalo Bills at the Meadowlands on October 5 , 1986 , Lyons attempted to sack Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly and then started to punch him repeatedly after the ball was thrown for an incompletion . Lyons was flagged for a personal foul by referee Ben Dreith for " giving him the business . " Dreith mistakenly assessed the foul against number 99 , which was Gastineau ' s number , instead of calling Lyons ' number 93 . Lyons missed playing time during the 1987 season when his wife , Kelly , and son , Martin Anthony " Rocky " Lyons Jr . , were involved in a serious traffic accident in Alabama . Later the same season , during a Monday Night Football game , Lyons blocked former Alabama teammate and Hall of Famer Dwight Stephenson in what Dolphins players and coaches labeled a ' cheap shot ' that ended his career . Personal life . While a player with the Jets , a series of events — the birth of his eldest son , the passing of his father , and the passing of a little boy to whom Lyons had been a Big Brother — inspired him to establish the Marty Lyons Foundation to work with terminally ill children , providing them wishes . He won the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 1984 as a result of that work . In December 2011 , Lyons will be honored by the Heisman Trust as the recipient of the sixth annual Heisman Humanitarian Award for his work with his Foundation . Lyons is currently the Jets radio analyst and chairman of the Marty Lyons Foundation . He has been enshrined in the State of Alabama Hall of Fame ( 2000 ) , Suffolk and Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame ( 2001 & 2002 , respectively ) , Maryland Sports Hall of Fame ( 2004 ) , the Tampa Bay Sports Club Hall of Fame ( 2007 ) , and the College Football Hall of Fame ( 2011 ) . Lyons and his wife , Christine , have three children named Luke , Megan , and Jesse . Rocky , his only child from his first marriage , is a physician in Alabama .