Exclusive Fantasy Q&A With Cato June

By Khalil Garriott
NFLPLAYERS.COM

 

No two NFL seasons are alike, and the same holds true in fantasy football. Case in point: Cato June. As the defending champion of NFL PLAYERS Fantasy ’09, June felt he had an advantage over his league counterparts, but finds his “Juneimus D Great” squad struggling this season. June, facing a battle with “Optimus Prime” in Week 6, spoke about his win last week, the keys to scoring points in fantasy and the strengths of his roster in this exclusive interview with NFLPLAYERS.COM.

 

 

A: It went good; it was a shootout. The thing is … every week I kind of get everybody’s best shot. But I will be alright.

 

 

A: Oh, definitely. As long as I’m doing it consistently, I think that’ll pan out going into the second quarter of the season.

 

 

A: Oh, man! It’s terrible! I think I’m in another one of those situations where Matt [Forté] and his team has overachieved. I like my two quarterbacks, [Tom] Brady and [Matt] Ryan, I like them over [Matt] Schaub and [Jason] Campbell. Schaub is pretty good at putting up numbers—but Campbell, you know, he’s hit and miss, so I like my quarterbacks. He’s got [Steve] Slaton and Chris Johnson; Steve’s been stumbling and hasn’t really hit a groove like everybody expected him to, and Johnson out there in Tennessee is going to have a rough time getting that first win.

 

I picked up Ray Rice off the waivers. I’ve got him and Thomas Jones, and I’ve also got [Brian] Westbrook. And then it just gets ugly for him. I just don’t see Eddie Royal, Todd Heap and Jacksonville’s kicker (Josh Scobee) beating me. I just think I have him beat all across the board. Denver’s one of the best defenses right now in the league. I’ve got to make a decision on tight end—whether it’s going to be [Kellen] Winslow again—[T.J.] Houshmandzadeh finally scored some points—and I’ve got Randy [Moss] … it’s looking good. I’ve made decisions and stuck to it, so I can’t get frustrated with 2-3. I should be 5-0, but you know, it doesn’t work like that all the time. I just don’t see him having enough firepower, unless Jason Campbell throws for three touchdowns or something ridiculous like that.

 

 

A: Yeah, I don’t know. Everybody’s been beating up on Kansas City. And it’s been kind of a weird year for the Redskins.

 

 

A: Oh, definitely. The trend is definitely going to continue. You’ve got a lot of great players, like Brady—who everybody says get off to a slow start and that offense hasn’t clicked like they’re going to—but everybody knows that they’re going to at some point. And now Atlanta is starting to come on, and [Michael] Turner is starting to get into the end zone, so Atlanta is starting to do what they had been projected to do. And I think, all around, my guys are in offenses that are putting up numbers. I feel like they’re going to surprise many fantasy owners. You see Houshmandzadeh’s got Matt Hasselbeck, Ray Rice has a good line and Leon Washington is doing good things for Thomas Jones. He’s got two touchdowns, so I don’t care if he walks them in or runs them in from 20 yards out.

 

 

A: Oh, definitely. Definitely. It already did. I looked at it yesterday and I was like, ‘Dang I gotta change this around, oh, he’s on a bye, good, good.’ I do have two things though. Do I sit Houshmandzadeh and hope Marques Colston is a force in the New Orleans offense? And then the thing with Brent Celek, so I do have a couple decisions to make. It’s hard to leave Celek on the bench, because they’re playing Oakland, and that Carolina-Tampa Bay game is gonna be a low-scoring game, plus I think they’re gonna have a blackout. You know, there are a lot of things going on, with both teams looking for a win, so I think that it’s gonna be a low-scoring game. I think that Oakland-Philly game is gonna be a little more wide-open.

 

 

A: Nah. I mean, the only real thing when looking at my team, let’s just look at the average. Everything’s gonna average out. If I’m starting my best people on average, everyone is averaging—with the exception of my receivers and my kickers—right at 10 points. I almost picked up a new placekicker, but I’m gonna give [Lawrence] Tynes a few more weeks and see if he’s doing well. But everybody’s right at 10 or [more] a game, and if they all give me 10 points, I’m at 100 points, and on average that’s gonna give you a chance to win. If everyone’s averaging 10 points a game, I’m gonna have a great chance to win every week.

 

 

A: Well, you know, it doesn’t look good for him. I’ve gotta say, I guess he’s had a decent first half of the year, but now that I’m looking at the matchup, if everyone plays average, it’s not even gonna be close. It’s gonna get ugly. If he thinks he’s gonna beat me with Eddie Royal and Todd Heap in his lineup—if those guys beat me—I need to get beat. That’s just ridiculous. And Jacksonville may not score 10 points, so you’re not gonna get those extra miracle 15 points from your kicker that you can get from time to time.