JET PRESS EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Former Tight End Anthony Becht

Former Jets tight end Anthony Becht

Many Jet Press readers out there will remember Anthony Becht, tight end from 200-2004.  Becht gave us a consistent effort and performance every week. Here are his stats from his Jets career:

                                                                             G                        GS                      Rec      YDS        AVG       Long   TD                                                  Fum Lost

I (Mike Nash) was fortunate enough to catch up recently with Anthony Becht. Becht agreed to do a short Q&A with me. Check it out!

THE JET PRESS:- Many people dream of making the NFL, was it always your dream as a child?ANTHONY BECHT:– Making the NFL was never really a dream for me till after my Junior year ofcollege. I wasn’t a highly pursued player out of high school, so in my mind I just wantedto earn a college scholarship and would’ve been happy with just that. After my juniorseason my name started to pop up in all of theses draft publications and just kinda oftook off from there.

TJP– You had a very successful career, any game in particular that stands out in your mind?AB– The playoff lose vs the Steelers when I was with the Jets was definitely the gamethat I thought we were making the next step to the AFC Championship game. We wereone of those teams that got hot at the right time and I thought it was our time. To go toPitt and beat them down the way we did and to fall short at the end with a few missedkicks was bittersweet.

TJP– What was it like playing for the Jets?

AB– I loved playing in and for the New York Jets. It was the greatest and toughestfanbase you could play for. If you could succeed in the Big Apple you could playanywhere. I have a lot of good friends and memories of my time there. With my secondcareer starting up with TV and Radio it would be a great if I could tie myself back to myroots in NY.

TJP– Did you try and model your game around anyone who previously played TE?AB– At the time I was coming out Mark Chumra was a guy, before hisincident, that I wanted to pattern my game after. Was a true complete tight end thatcould block and split the seams and be a force in the passing game. As well as aredzone threat.

TJP– hat teammate were you closest with on the team on and off the field?AB– my best friend then and now was Chad Pennington. He in my opinion was ahuge influence on me, on and off the field. One of the great players and leaders I wasable to play with.

TJP– You also had a good career at WVU, what was it like to play their?AB– Playing at WVU was the greatest time of my life. The people, the fans, and thecoaches embraced me and made West Virginia my home away from home. If I could goback in time I would do the whole college thing all over again. Time Flies!

TJP– how do you feel about the current state of the Jets?AB– I think the Jets currently are in a rebuilding stage. I think the biggest thing are thedistractions on and off the field. A lot of those things can be prevented upstairs to keepthe distraction levels down. The players at the end of the day just want to play, but whenyou sign guys and bring players in that carry some extra baggage more them likely youridentity becomes that. The teams that I played for had great leadership and guys thatjust wanted to put their heads down and work. A sort of blue collar mentality that hasslightly flipped to white collar. I think if they simply get back to that mentality things willshape out for the best

TJP– Anything you feel needs to be addressed for this team to contend next season?AB– I think every position needs to be looked at to find out if football, hardwork, andwinning is the #1 priority for each player. You must have a good mix of leadership andtalent surrounding your QB. I think their is a need for big play players and that has to beupgraded. Less drama more play is the challenge the Head Coach and New GM mustbalance. And as a fan I hope they can turn the ship around!

I would like to thank Mr. Becht for taking the time out to answer some questions!