Anthony Becht Interview
Anthony Becht played 12 years in the NFL at the tight end position. In his career he has played for the New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals, and Kansas City Chiefs. Since retiring Becht is still involved with football. He works for ESPN and is the Buccaneers Pre and Post Game Host for 620 WDAE.
Recently he has teamed up with Mohan’s Custom Tailors and the Doe Fund to help those in need this holiday season. Mohan’s is looking for people to donate suits or overcoats that they don’t use anymore. This charity event kicks-off a holiday season of giving at Mohan’s. When people come in and donate their suits they will receive a $100 credit toward a new custom tailored overcoat. Then those donations will be cleaned and donated to charity.
I was able to chat with Anthony about his playing days in the NFL, fatherhood, the work he is doing with Mohan’s and the Doe Fund, and this current season in the NFL.
Art Eddy: Let’s talk about the great work that you are doing with Mohan’s Custom Tailors and the Doe Fund to help those in need this holiday season.
Anthony Becht: I really think it is outstanding. I have teamed up with Mohan’s Custom Tailors after my career. Just for the fact that they have some great suits. They wanted to team up and work together to work with a charity each and every month of 2014. To kick off the year they are going to work with the Doe Fund.
Basically Mohan’s are going to donate suit jackets and suits that customers bring in. They will clean them up and give them to the Doe Fund. We see a lot of charities that supply the homeless with shelter and food. I think the Doe Fund really does a great job. What they do is actually get those in need in the workforce. They find them jobs, get them educated, and get them back on their feet so their long term success is greater than the short term.
Those people can’t afford suits or jackets. For Mohan’s to provide jackets and reach out to this charity and work with them is bar none an outstanding idea in the long term for these people in need.
AE: How can people help you guys out?
AB: They can go to Mohan Tailors dot com. They can reach out to Mohan’s if they have a suit or anything they have that they are no longer using. They can go to Mohan’s and receive a $100 discount towards the purchase of a new suit, custom suit, or overcoat. Basically the goal is to get these coats and overcoats to those people in need.
Hopefully we will be able to get over a thousand of these jackets back to the people in need. I just think it is a great idea. Just reach out to Mohan’s. Go to their website. You can call them at 212-697-0050 to get more information.
AE: Moving to sports, you played for 12 years in the NFL as a tight end for the Jets, Bucs, Rams, Cardinals, and Chiefs. Looking back at your career what do you take away the most from your days in the league?
AB: One thing Art is that it goes fast. You don’t realize how the years pile up. All of a sudden bam it kind of hits you and your career is over. I have been very fortunate. The average in the NFL is three and a half years. I definitely surpassed that playing 12 seasons.
I got to play in New York, one of the greatest cities in the world. I came down to Tampa, where I live now, and I got to go to a few places at the end of my career. I really got to see the country and see the fans, and play with different coaches and teammates.
The fact that I got to play such a long time and the longevity to stay somewhat healthy throughout my career and not miss many games was great. Being that blue collar type of tight end playing in the NFL opened up many opportunities when I was playing and now with my post football career in the media world.
AE: You played for a few different quarterbacks in your career. How long did it take you to build a chemistry with a quarterback when you started playing for a new team?
AB: As a tight end that was the first thing I did. When I came to New York I had Chad Pennington and Vinnie Testaverde sitting right next to me at my locker. Immediately you try to build those bonds. That is important. I think any wide receiver, tight end, running back in this league the first person you are trying to make friends with is the quarterback.
Anything you can do to build that extra work or continuity and getting on the same page is huge. As I grew into my career and went to different teams I was kind of a guy that got gravitated to as a leader. I would be with those quarterbacks from just an experience standpoint.
For any young guy coming into the league build a relationship with the quarterback, the coordinators, and just everybody to get on the same page and put that extra work in. It can really help you develop yourself as a better player and extend your career.
AE: Did you have a few guys on opposing teams that you enjoyed matching up against?
AB: Yeah, there had been some opponents obviously playing against different teams especially in the AFC East. You look at the Miami Dolphins. They were always a big rival. You are playing against Jason Taylor twice a year. He was one of the more phenomenal defensive players to play during my time.
You look at the Patriots. Guys like Willie McGinest and Tedy Bruschi, these guys were just hard-nosed defensive players that accentuated what the NFL was really all about. There were challenges for me. When I was a young guy with the Jets going against these high caliber players was tough early, but made me a better player as I went on in my career. It helped me extend my career and play a long time in the NFL.
AE: Switching to this year, who is your pick to win the Super Bowl?
AB: When I look at the NFC I really see teams that are in the bottom tier of the playoff situation are really trying to fight for their position. Originally I thought the Saints were going to be a team that could really make some noise moving forward. They had an outstanding season. We see them have their struggles with the Rams recently.
I think the big thing for me is the consistency. The Seattle Seahawks have been the most consistent team. When you look at the quarterback play in Russell Wilson everyone is picking them, but that is really the main factor. Every single week they have had the ability to go out and play hard, play good, and win each and every game. They could easily be undefeated.
On the AFC side you think that it will be the Denver Broncos, but you are starting to see some flaws with this team. They struggle on defense. I feel that no matter how many stats Peyton Manning puts up they need every single yard and every touchdown. That could be a problem moving forward.
Look at the Patriots and the Ravens. I think it is going to be one of those cold weather teams that if they can just get into the playoffs, they can make some noise. Look at the Ravens. They are a team that understands the situation. They can play hard-nosed defense. They have an experienced quarterback that can make some noise. Overall though if the Broncos get hot and they can do anything with their defense then they would be the favorite going in to the playoffs.
AE: Any team surprise you this year either in a positive or negative way?
AB: I think in a positive way the Carolina Panthers have done an outstanding job this year. You talk about the head coach, Ron Rivera. Everyone wanted to fire him last season, but all of a sudden they stuck with him. Cam Newton became a better player. They get a few defensive players like Luke Kuechly and other defensive linemen that come in and really help build that team.
Now they are really a complete football team. They can run the football. They can play defense. To me they have been the surprise. I thought that they would be better, but I didn’t think that they would be in the mix to potentially with the division.
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