*A look at Team Asian-Pacific (APAC) - World Football Championship

[Raven]

Code:

2576 words + + 275 words in the gfx's if you want to pay for that aswell. (as its mostly just player names, country, team)

Series

Team World: https://forums.sim-football.com/showthre...?tid=33667
Team Europe: https://forums.sim-football.com/showthre...?tid=34047


The third installment of 'A look at team X' for the upcomig World Football Championships held in Reykjavik, Iceland. Last time we looked at Team Europe. A team with a scary looking defense, but an offense that is missing some holes. Now we will be looking at Team Asian-Pacific, as the name suggests this is where you will find teams from continental Asia and Oceania. Spoiler, despite this insane range of countries, only 8 countries feature on this depth chart. I will not spoil which country leads in appearances. This is the last team to look at before diving into the North American teams. The teams that will likely be overflowing with players from ear to ear. Wish me luck with that. However before all that let us look at team APAC. I believe Team APAC is the smallest based on player quantity, with only 33 players currently affiliated with Team APAC. How do they look in player quality though? Let us do a deep dive into that.

Quarterback



In the DSFL rookie quarterback Wendell Sailor is currently a second string behind Panda McKyle. He has thrown 16 passes, completing 13 of them. Throwing for 175 yards. He has 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions on the year so far.

Soooo on the brightside, Team APAC have the currently top earning QB in the S31 class. On the not so brightside, unless an established quarterback transfers to Team APAC that is all they currently have in the arsenal. The throwing game might struggle for a few seasons, but if Sailor keeps grinding and growing, he will become a stud for the team. Sailor is the future of the team.

Running backs



What the throwing department might lack right now, Team APAC makes up in the running department. As one of the greatest running back of the last few seasons plays for the team. Tatsu Nakamure lead the league in rushing yards between S28 and S30. He has taken a bit of a step back this season as he is sharing his duties with Deadly Memes. However he is still rocking 347 yards, 3.9 aypc and has 7 touchdowns. Terry Yaki has 159 yards. 3.6 aypc and 4 touchdowns to his name. Down in the DSFL Kiara Tenoh has 158 running yards for 5.3 aypc and 1 touchdown. Ken Oath is directly behind her in yards with 147 for 3.8 aypc and 0 touchdowns. Julio Tirtawidjaja is a free agent.

The team has no obvious FB. Yaki has 16 pancakes and no sacks allowed. Nakamura 20 pancakes and has allowed 3 sacks. Tenoh has 3 pancakes and Oath has 2 pancakes.

I think it is safe to say Tatsu Nakamura and Terry Yaki will feature heavily in this years tournament. With Tirtawidjaja being a FA and IA and Kiara Tenoh retiring after this season. Ken Oath can be taken along as a full back option if the team desires to do so.

Nakamura is going to be deep in regression and even Terry Yaki is only a season away from regression. Ken Oath is the only remaining player after next season who is active and he will be looked at to continue developing to become the #1 RB for APAC in the future. They will need some reinforcement for when Yaki has to step down, although that will be a while.

Wide Receivers



First of all, this wide receiving corps is absolutely disgusting. This depth chart features the top 4 wide receivers based on yards in the league right now. Taro Raimon is at the top of his game, Kai Sakura and Videl-San are right behind him and you cannot say anything bad about William Lim and Asui. It is too bad you cannot bring 5 wide receivers. Prehaps they can be disguised as tight ends? As a spoiler for Tight End. The team currently has no Tight Ends on the depth chart. I hope for them they are allowed to allocate Wide Receivers to those spots, because it would be a shame if Asui as an example as to be left behind. The only worry this corps brings along is how much can you utilize these guys with a DSFL rookie quarterback. Will be very interesting to see it play out.

Let's start looking at the yardage of the wide receivers. William Lim leads in the league with 797 yards, 14.8 aypc and 6 touchdowns. Kai Sakura right behind him with 773 yards, 13.6 aypc and 2 touchdowns. Videl-San behind him with 711 yards, 17.3 aypc and a league leading 7 touchdowns. Behind her is Taro Raimon, 666 yards, 14.8 aypc and 7 touchdowns as well. We cannot forget about Tsuyu Asui who has 517 yards, 14.4 aypc and 3 touchdowns. Inactive Doug Howlett has 281 yards, 21.6 aypc and 1 touchdown. DSFL rookie wide receiever Kotoni Staggs has 264 yards, 12 aypc and 1 touchdown. Fellow DSFL rookie Rodka Raskolnikov has 185 yards, 14.2 aypc and 3 touchdowns.

Without having looked at the Northern American teams this just seems like one of the nastiest bunch of wide receivers in the tournament. One downside is all of these receivers are getting up there in age. All 4 will be regressing, so it could slow them down in future seasons. However with Asui being a S27 and Staggs and Raskolnikov down in the DSFL growing you have some capible replacement options in the future.

Tight Ends



Bit cheek in tongue to provide a screenlist here and even talk about Tight Ends. As mentioned earlier the team features no Tight Ends on their depth chart. Do they just line up their 3rd and 4th string WRs up as their tight ends. Seems like that has to be the play.

The future is open. A young TE could transfer here to get playing time or someone could create as a TE and know the would not have to wait long to play.

Offensive Line



Team APAC has 4 big bois for the offensive line. They would have to get 1 (bot?) player added and they are ready to go. Veteran Buckley currently has 50 pancakes and has not allowed a sack. Ananda Adyan has 21 pancakes with 1 sack allowed. Future Trunks and Ajay Krishna are both free agents.

With two inactives and 3 players in regression and 1 one season away from regression. Ajay Krishna will also auto retire after this offseasons regression. This is a position that comes with needs for team APAC. Especially as they cannot fill out a full human OL. People looking to be a flagstone OL on a team, this team will welcome you with open arms.

Defensive End



Honolulu Hahalua legend Immanuel Blackstone is the lone defensive end on this team. This season he has accumulated 20 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble and 3 sacks. Immanuel Blackstone transfered to this team wanting to honour his family's Palestinian roots.

Frankly Blackstone is getting up there in age. He will soon be hit with a 40% regression hit. If he feels like it, he likely has 1, maybe 2 if he pushes it, more season after this.

Defensive Tackle



Defensive Tackle is a bit more crowded than the defensive end side of the depth chart. Yuuto Kira Cloudera is the only player on the list who currently plays in the ISFL. There he has gotten 26 tackles and 3 sacks. Down in the DSFL rookie Nep Neppy has recorded 15 tackles and 2 forced fumbles. Joseph Charles Raymond has recored 9 tackles.

Yuuto Kira Cloudera is retiring after this season. This will leave team APAC with two young guns in Nep Neppy and Joiseph Charles Raymond. Neppy is a S31 prospect who is earning nicely. Raymond is a S30 prospect who is early a little slower. They are currently the future for Team APAC and will take over the reigns full time when Cloudera is gone. With 3 slots they can all come along to Reykjavik though.

Linebacker



Things turn around at linebacker for team APAC. It won't reach the max allowed 5 linebacker, but with 4 they come pretty close. Some house hold names and a few younger ones. A.J Lucas has 44 tackles with 2 tackles for a loss. 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovered. Top that off with 6 sacks, 1 interception and 6 passes defended.
Rookie Sir Peter Jackson has recorded 26 takles and 1 sack. Spike Suzuki has yet to touch the grass this season, contracted to the Yellowknife Wraiths. Down in the DSFL rookie Anya Mind has recorded 15 tackles, with a sack and a defended pass.

Team APAC has 1 regressing IA linebacker in Spike Suzuki, who will survive one more round of regression. A.J Lucas is the veteran who will likely lead the lines. Behind him is S29 draftee Sir Peter Jackson who is advancing nicely and might even compete with Lucas for a top spot. Anya Mind is bursting onto the scene and has nice progression. She will be a great future player for the team.

Cornerback



Hououin Kyouma will be team APAC's solo cornerback this tournament. The DSFL player has 29 tackles, good for 7th in the DSFL, as well as 2 inteceptions and 6 passes defended.

Kyouma will need some help in the future to hold down the corners as he is currently alone in doing so. He is a young player with time to develop and with the right growth be vital for the team.

Safety



Safety is basically another one man show. Veteran Shawn Dawkins will be working hard to hold down the back field. For the Hahalua he has recorded 29 tackles, 1 sack and 2 defended passes so far this season. Fellow safety Yondu Yorukan has 11 tackles and a defended pass in the DSFL.

Dawkins is a great player, but being an S22 player is going to get slapped hard by regression. Once Dawkins has to retire the team is looking hard pressed on the safety position.

Kicker



The kicker position is going to be a dog fight. Veteran Jacob Smalls has the best ability, but Taipan Pete is following closely and Levy Tate is a young player who can break through. Jacob smalls has gone 23/24 on extra points, 14/15 on field goals with a long of 56, 1801 punting yards for 50 yards average with 18 inside the 20 and a long of 63 so far this season.  Taipan Pete has gone 19/19 on extra points, 13/16 on field goals with a long of 55. Punting wise he has 1149 yards with a 44.2 average, 10 inside the 20 and a long of 64. Down in the DSFL Levy Tate has 15/15 on extra points, 6/7 on field goals with a long of 43. 647 punting yards with league leading 8 inside the 20 and a long of 63. Datsum Phastbawls is a free agent.

Kicker is a position Team APAC does not have to worry about. Jacob Small is an older player and will likely have to give over the rains to Taipan Pete or Levy Tate depending on their progression in the near future.

Transfers

In:

Ananda Adyan - S25 - OL - 817 TPE (Team World)
Ken Oath - S31 - RB - 207 TPE* (Team World)
Immanuel Blackstone - S21 - DE - 930 TPE (Team Atlantic-Midwest United States)

Out:

Ray the Manta Ray - S31 - LB - 150 TPE (Team Western United States)
Makoto Otawara - S26 - DE - 866 TPE (Team World)

You lose some and you gain some. They gain their only DE, a quality DSFL rookie RB and their best ability Offensive linesman from transfers. On the other side they lose a quality DSFL rookie LB and a veteran DE in Makoto Otawara. They gain 938 TPE from transfers, swap DE's, gain a RB and OL and lose an LB. It feels like a rough trade off regardless. With a few more ingame weeks to go before the deadline for line ups, transfers could still shake up Team APAC. Losing anyone at this point will hurt. Receiving a stand out QB would be great for the team, if they want to capitalize on the amazing Wide Receiving core they currently have. Another DE and safety wouldn't hurt. As well for another CB.

*Oath wasn't really a transfer, but a correction on a mistake made regarding his brithplace.

Country break down

Japan: 12
Australia: 7
New Zealand: 3
India: 3
Russia: 3
Korea: 2
Indonesia: 2
Palestine: 1

Despite Palestine not being listen under the APAC countries after transfering to Palestine Blackstone has been put here. Makes sence as Palestine lays on the Asian continent, but then the list of countries is missing all middle eastern countries.

Overall thoughts

I hate to sound overly negative regarding the team. But it is hard to be too optimistic about how the team currently stands looking at the upcoming World Football Tournament. Wendell Sailor is poised to be a great future Quarterback, but can he preform on the big stage at his current ability levels? Will he breakout too late to capitalize on that amazing wide receiving core? Tatsu Nakamura and Terry Yaki can provide a ton of running support and might be heavily relied on if Sailor cannot find his bearing. Will not having a tight end hurt or can they just slot one of their great wide receivers in that role? Offensive line is not looking to bad, 3 good bodies and one corpse. Defense is where it hurts to look. Compared to Europe's team which is high on defense, but has holes in WR, APAC has the opposite going on. One defensive end might hurt them and can two young defensive tackles do their job of breaking through the opposing offensive line? LB is somewhat of a bright spot with Lucas and Jackson being able to preform at a high level already. A young lone Cornerback and an older lone safety cover the corners and back line. This team can barely put a full defense out there. Atleast they have four kickers no.

Team APAC is a team that is going to have to heavily rely on getting some transfers from packed United State teams and or the many N/A players of Team World. They are also going to have to get their name out there in regarding to youth recruiting. Get some fresh blood hyped for Team APAC and creating within the nations of Team APAC. I would love to see team APAC thrive amongst the likely powerhouses to American teams. It makes sence why they are currently looking to struggle. Having only 33 players, is not a huge amount.  Especially when 35 is the max amount of allowed players on a team if you max out every position.


Next article will focus on Canada, before we take on the big 4 teams of America. Just like Team APAC Canada might struggle with a small roster size. Which is 36 according to the WFC eligibility list. Just 3 more than Team APAC.

[BOOM™]

Nice read. As an actual Aussie I'll be interested to see how the team performs. All the best.