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Jets radio color commentator Anthony Becht, a former NFL tight end who started his career with the Jets and who now also is the head coach of the UFL St. Louis BattleHawks, catches up with Post columnist Steve Serby for some Q&A.
Q: What have you observed about Aaron Rodgers?
A: He’s not the same guy, but man, there’s some plays and throws that he makes you’re like, “Man, that’s that dude right there.” I played against him, watched him come into the league as a young player, seen the greatness that he has. Nobody’s the same player 16, 17 years in your career, but man, he shows signs of stuff that you’re like, “Wow, that guy still has it.” If there’s anybody that’s going to be driven to turn the team around and do what he can to do it, I’d say it’s him. It’s a lot on his plate, but you don’t come to New York and you don’t play for the Jets if you don’t want that. He’s here for a reason, and I do believe he can turn this around, and I think he’s still got enough juice to do it. He’s got to kind of deflect that to his team, and when they walk in that huddle, they still believe that this guy’s going to win them a game no matter what, and he’s the kind of dude that can do that.
Q: Describe Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson.
A: Just off of last week’s performance, I’d say that they can be a top-five duo.
Q: What did you think of Garrett Wilson’s catch?
A: It may have been the best catch I’ve seen. If he’s not in the top three, top four in catches and yards every year, we’re doing him a disservice, because he’s just a smooth route-runner, excellent hand catcher, extremely intelligent and smart. If you’re a quarterback you want to get this kid the ball, because he deserves it.
Q: You think this team can still make a Super Bowl run?
A: They have the pieces to do it. I think right now internally, the goal should be get to .500 as quick as possible, and once you do that, that builds the confidence that you need.
Q: What is the key to beating the Cardinals on Sunday?
A: You got to stop the run. If you don’t, it’s going to be a long day.
Q: What has it been like replacing Marty Lyons in the radio booth?
A: I love it, man. It’s great. As a head coach on the sidelines, you don’t see a lot. But I’m in that space up there, it’s like everything just slows down and I see it all. The key for me, and obviously being a really good broadcaster, is how do you deliver what you see and paint the picture? I basically talk as if I’m speaking to blind people, because you got to paint a picture, and you got to do it very quickly and get in and out of it. I love that, I love the pressure of putting something together in 5-, 6-second bursts that matter, and putting a period on it so that Bob [Wischusen, play-by-play man] can take over and do his part.
Q: What is your best Bill Parcells story?
A: He drafted me as the [Jets] general manager, and my very first preseason game, I caught a touchdown against the Saints, and I also had like three other catches I think. Somebody wrote some really good articles — Anthony Becht shines. So the next day, I go out on the field and Parcells is on the other side of the field, and he’s walking and he starts shouting my name. So I go over there all puffy chest thinking he’s going to pat me on the back, tell me how good I was of a pick, and my future is going to be great — I am going to be the next Mark Bavaro, he kept telling me that. I go over there, he puts his hand on my shoulder, and he says; “Hey Becht. If you ever block like that in a game again, I’ll send your ass so quickly back to West Virginia you won’t know what hits you,” and he said it with a couple of expletive remarks. Here I was thought I was going to get this big bear hug, and he basically crushed me. It was a very powerful message, because it kind of eliminated the diva that I maybe had a little bit in me in that moment, and it just totally turned me into a lunch-pail, head-down kind of player.
Q: You were the fourth and last first-rounder Parcells drafted in 2000.
A: I think I may be the only first-round pick in the history of football … I had a huge party, 75 people, tent outside, half a big-screen box TV plugged in outside, I had a hard-wired phone, kind of like a Batphone out by the TV. I just knew I was getting picked by one of those four picks. So the 27th pick comes up, we’re sitting there, and whatever it was, 10-minute clock comes on at the time, and it’s ticking and it’s ticking, and the phone’s not ringing, and I’m like, “What’s going on?” And then it’s like five minutes, three minutes. … I was in the front couch sitting there kind by myself looking at the TV, and I see [then-NFL commissioner] Paul Tagliabue walking up to the stage and I’m like, “I cannot believe it.” Now I was kind of getting stressed out. I’m like “Man, this is the worst. Parcells lied to me. He told me he was picking me.” I’m the only first-round draft pick that I know of that never got a phone call letting them know that they were getting picked.
Q: Did you ask Parcells why?
A: My agent [Cliff Brady] told me, “Ah, we wanted to make it a surprise.”
Q: Describe the Monday Night Miracle against the Dolphins — when the Jets scored 30 in the fourth quarter and won, 40-37, in overtime.
A: I missed one game in my career. That was it. Al Groh did not allow players that were injured to travel or be dressed at the game. So I stayed home and I watched that game.
Q: What was it like watching it?
A: It was unbelievable. I saw two tight ends catch two of my touchdowns. I saw Jermaine Wiggins catch one of my touchdowns that I should have got, and I saw Jumbo Elliott catch another one.
Q: What made Chad Pennington, Chad Pennington?
A: He was just an elite leader. He’s still a mentor for me. He knows how to rally the troops, incredibly smart. If it wasn’t for his two other sons that are still in high school, he’d be on my coaching staff right now. He just had all the answers, man, and he knows how to talk to people in the right way to get the most out of them. Was never around a leader at the quarterback position like him. When he got in the huddle, man, you felt the awareness and the belief that it was going to get done, and he did it a high level for a long time.
Q: Vinny Testaverde.
A:, He was like my brother when I got to the Jets. I’ve been bouncing stuff of him for 25 years.
Q: Curtis Martin.
A: The way Curtis played, I took it personal that I had to make sure that I did my job at the highest level so that he would have success. A guy that I saw play hurt, play banged-up, his work ethic. … I just didn’t want to let him down.
Q: Kevin Mawae.
A: An incredible competitor. The chip on his shoulder that he played with every single game every single week definitely showed and rubbed off on a lot of guys.
Q: Wayne Chrebet.
A: You were never going to top Wayne in anything. You were never going to top him on game day on the field. Just an elite competitor. I couldn’t beat him in cards, couldn’t beat him in anything. He would never lose. He was just one of them dudes that just found a way to win everything. He was one of the most overachieving players I’ve ever seen in my life.
Q: Al Groh.
A: He was definitely a very, very hard-nosed coach that only knew one way to do it, and that was just to grind it out every single day.
Q: Herm Edwards.
A: Excellent motivator. First-time head coach, so kind of learning his path, learning his ways, and got players to buy in and play hard.
Q: Describe the divisional round loss in Pittsburgh after the 2004 season.
A: We were the hot team at that point. I just felt like we were going to win the Super Bowl that year. It was painful, man.
Q: What are you most proud of about your NFL career?
A: Availability. My first 10 years in the league I missed one game. There was never a week or a game in my career where I was not an important part of what the game plan was in any year of my career, and I take a lot of pride in that. … To become an elite blocker, that started to happen midway through my career, and I saw that there was a niche for that. Coaches could count on me. I made it hard and difficult for coaches not to put me in all the way up to the end of my career.
Q: Describe our on-field mentality.
A: I took more pride in kicking somebody’s ass blocking them than I did maybe catching the ball.
Q: As a coach for the UFL St. Louis BattleHawks, what are the traits of the ideal Anthony Becht football player?
A: Mentally tough … just a tireless competitor … accountability. If I can’t count on you, I can’t use you. And just selflessness, a team-first guy.
Q: How do you motivate?
A: I’m very strategic in my messaging to my players every single day. And I just think that I’m someone that can read the room well and hit poignant things. I may not be speaking to everybody necessarily that day, I may be speaking to one or two people, but I can make it worthy for everybody. You can’t just be up there and have a 10-minute long speech. You got to be poignant with your word especially when you’re talking about professional athletes. You got to make sure you hit them hard, and it means something, and they don’t forget it, because most of the stuff you talk about goes in one ear and out the other. Be an elite messenger. If the message is clear I think guys will follow.
Q: What won’t you tolerate?
A: Personal fouls. I never got one, and I played more snaps than my entire team combined in their professional careers, and I just take a lot of pride in that because I just think it’s the most selfish act a player can do. And I don’t tolerate it, if it happens, you’re immediately out of the game and I don’t even know when you’re going back in. When it does, very rarely does it happen again by that same player.
Q: Do you have rules?
A: Basic rules, man, like always be early to the meetings. Always taking a note, like you should never walk into a meeting, whether I’m talking or my coaches or whatever we’re doing without a notebook open and a pencil. To me, if you’re listening and hearing it, you’ll forget it. … And don’t point fingers. Always start with yourself.
Q: How enjoyable is coaching for you?
A: I love it. Just being with five organizations in my career, and really on the back end of the last three, I’ve always been that coach in the locker room. I was brought to the Cardinals and the Rams and the Chiefs to build up a weaker tight end room, and to show and lead the way. I always have a very open-door policy because I want to help players achieve what they most want, and that’s to get to the NFL. I love seeing the success when someone’s kicked to the side. We raise ’em up and give ’em that belief and give ’em an opportunity to shine in our platform.
Q: Would you want to coach in the NFL?
A: Yeah I would. I want to be a college head coach, I think that’s the quickest path. I was called to be a head coach — I just know in my heart that’s what I’m supposed to be. I think this environment’s changing. I think it’s less about the best play-callers and more about the best leaders. Another thing that I’m just anal about is situational football. I will not lose a football game for my football team. I see it every week, and I’m glad that every week someone in the NFL (laugh) and somebody in college gives me more information and more knowledge on what not to do. I’m on a course to win a championship as quick as possible, because I want to show that I can do this. It’s just a matter of getting in the door and speaking to someone. Selling my vision is the thing that got me into the XFL at the time, UFL now.
Q: Who were your favorite tight ends growing up?
A: Ben Coates, Tony Gonzalez.
Q: Give me a scouting report on your son, Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht.
A: (Laugh) Understands how to win from the pocket … has a precise, weekly plan from Sunday to Saturday. … He’s got an elite release, and can create and run when needed. … He’s a really good leader. Guys really gravitate to him on both sides. Three of his roommates are defensive players. The more he sees, the more he goes through, the better prepared and equipped for an opportunity down the road.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Al Pacino, Joe Montana, Bill Parcells.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Goodfellas.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Sylvester Stallone.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Jessica Chastain.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Veal parmigiana.
