3–4 defense, with Loren Toews being the regular starter at the other inside linebacker position late in Lambert's career though Lambert retained the "Mike" role as the team's signal-caller on defense. According to Steelers media guides, Lambert averaged 146 tackles per season through his 10th year. He recorded only 19 in his 11th and final season because of an injury. Lambert amassed 28 career interceptions, 1,479 career tackles (1,045 solo), and (officially) 23 sacks. In a nine-year span, Jack Lambert was named to nine straight Pro Bowls and was NFL Defensive Player of the Year once. Lambert's four upper front teeth were missing as a result of taking an elbow in basketball during high school. Although he had a removable partial denture he wore in public, he didn't wear it during games, and pictures of Lambert's toothless snarl became an iconic image of the famous Steeler defense. In 1976, Lambert assumed the role as leader of the Steelers after star defensive tackle "Mean Joe" Greene missed several games due to a chronic back injury. After quarterback Terry Bradshaw, receiver Lynn Swann and several other starters went down with injuries, the Steelers struggled to a 1–4 record. At a "players only" meeting, Lambert made it clear that "the only way we are going to the playoffs to defend our title is to win them all from here out." In a remarkable nine-game span, the Steelers defense allowed only two touchdowns and a total of 28 points, including five shutouts. The Steelers won all of these games and finished at 10–4. The defense gave up only a record low 138 points for the entire season. Eight of the eleven defensive starters on the Steelers made the Pro Bowl that year. Jack Lambert was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1976. During the 1984 season, a severe and recurring case of turf toe sidelined him, after which he retired. A bachelor throughout his NFL career, Lambert got married after retirement. He has been a long-time volunteer deputy wildlife officer and he now focuses on coaching youth baseball and basketball, tending to his land and maintaining his town's ball fields. He also played on a men's ice hockey team in nearby Harmarville, Pennsylvania. Broadcasting career Lambert was a member of the NFL on Westwood One as an analyst. Honors In 2004, the Fox Sports Net series The Sports List named Lambert as