Gameloft Real Football / Soccer 2011 - Why do my players sometimes not respond?

After the opposing team steals my dribble, or after I do a successful slide tackle myself, my guy just stands there stupidly for a good 2 or 3 seconds before he'll start moving again. That doesn't happen to the computer players, and somehow my son manages to avoid that most of the time too, but neither of us can spot the difference in how we're playing. What's the secret to keeping my guys responsive?