Who's the best dribbler on the Quakes?

A good dribbler can usually beat the first man, occaisionally the second, but seldom the third. The best dribblers are the ones that are smart enough to only try it against 1 or maybe 2 defenders. This is why Cunningham of Columbus isnt want Id call a good dribbler, because he can be quite stupid about it.

So I say Donovan, he knows when to try and take his man on and when to 1 touch.

 

Donovan is very good. So is Derosario.

 

Pat Onstad....
He's yet to show this - but I believe he's the best

 

Best dribbler... hmmm... that can mean many things.

Lagos does a great job protecting the ball. I'll never forget how he fought off 4 Metros in the box, dribbled out of troube then back-heeled to Ian (I think) who slammed home a beauty.

But it's hard to be 'the best dribbler on the team' if you don't have the speed to take a space behing a guy.

My vote: Alvarez. If he's not the best dribbler today, he will be by next year.

 

Corrales has made a few moves this year which no one else on the team can replicate I bet...even in practice.

With that said, I haven't seen enough of Alvarez to know if he's better.

I also agree that depending on how you define "dribbling", knowing when to dribble is an art in and of itself, and Donovan is the best at it.

 

Knowing when and where to dive is probably even more important

 

First: Lagos. He gets out on the wing and consistently breaks to the center of the field for either a decent shot or an acurate pass.

Second: DeRo. He just gets by one guy, the next guy, and a lot of the time the third guy, but by then he's usually off balance and can't get much power behind his shot.

Third: Corrales. He really impressed me with a few moves and touches to get past people in tight space against LA.

I think Donovan is pretty good, but he's relied too much on his speed to blow by guys in the recent games I've seen, and the few times I've seen him at a stop with a defender to beat he's usually playeda safe pass backwards, so it's hard to evaluate his dribbling skills.

I haven't seen Arturo play yet.

 

or he just keeps going until he gives the ball up, which is what seems to happen more often than not. he can dribble just good enough to get himself into trouble.

corrales can dribble himself out of trouble. so can landon. they get the edge.

but I think arturo has the potential to render this discussion moot.

also, I nominate me.
at the game against the galaxy when the quakes got the penalty kick awarded I dribbled beer down my shirt. showed excellent form, too.

 

I'd say Alvarez, Corrales, and DeRosario.WOW! Landon can run fast! so what. he's a great player, but give more credit to other players too.

 

Abdul Thompson Conteh used to run around the field pretty damn fast when he was here too, but I don't think you'd ever see him win any best dribbler awards. I think Landon might have a few more things going for him than just speed.

 

I voted for me. I dribble like a madman after I've had 17 beers

 

Really? You know, I think my memory of Lagos is still stuck in 2001, so maybe you're right. Still, Lagos does usually get by the first guy... I guess I'm just hoping for the return of Lagos version 2001 this year, so...

I like this point of yours. Based almost entirely on the LA game, it seemed like Landon actually got dispossed of the ball quite a bit, and when he did dribble out of trouble it was always out of trouble and play the safe ball back while Corrales really impressed by dribbling out of trouble and into the attack. It could be just the nature of the positions they play - Corrales has more room to go forward as a midfielder while LD has more room to come back - but I'll be impressed with Donovan when he dribbles out of trouble and gets a shot, cross, etc. out of it. (LD's certainly capable of this... I'd just like to see it.)


...and I'm out of the contest. I'm too poor to dribble my beer at the game...

 

Honestly, im going with either Ekelund, Agoos, or DeRo.

Too many times have I wanted Landon to burn his defender running forward, but i've yet to see it happen since '01.

Have not seen enough of Alvarez to label him the best dribbler.

Mullan has impressed, and if Lagos can get back to '01 form he could be the teams best dribbler.


How about the worst dribbler on the 'Quakes?
Ching or Waibel?! Russell could compete.

 

How can you say Landon is not a good dribbler after watching his performance against Mexico? Watch the game again.

 

RE the Mexico game....

I guess I expect a good dribbler to be able to keep ahold of any ball he gets a first touch to. Landon got a first touch to a lot of 50-50 balls and never got the second touch. I think his passing was great in that game - not his dribbling.

 

Ching can certainly hold the ball and hold off the man, so you have to credit him for that.

I'd definitely agree that Corrales has come up with some sweet touches on the ball this year.

I've been impressed particularly with Mulrooneys penetrating runs with the ball this year. Previously he held and supported, but now he'll just go with it if he sees an opportunity.

 

Yeah. But do you think this will continue to be a part of his game after Ekelund comes back? Or do you think he's stepped into Ekelund's role, and that this part of his game will be shelved once someone else is there to make the more penetrating runs and passes? I really don't know, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

 

He had to hold the ball against double or triple team, especially in 2nd half.

 

...which he wasn't able to do. Of course, I generally don't expect anyone on the US team to be able to do that (on a consistent basis). It would be nice to have a player "with glue on his shoes" like that, but we don't.

And I realize now that I have been interpreting "dribbler" in a very specific way - I imagine the player stopped, with the ball at his feet, and players to beat in front of him. Does he take the players on and get by? Does he take the players on and get dispossessed? Or does he make the "smart" pass to an open player?

I remember Donovan taking people on in the 2001 season, so I know he's capable of it. I just haven't seen it in a while. I'd like to see him dribble through players! But I'm also happy when he blows past them on speed and smart runs off the ball (which he was able to do against Mexico). However, in doing that, it makes it hard to evaluate his dribbling skills.

Now, a player like Pwamme can't go a game without trying to dribble past players. That made him easy to evaluate (last season - before this season's injury). but... while I'm sure that Landon is one of the best dribblers on the team, I just haven't seen it recently, so I left him out of the list.

...and in the Chicago game, by the way, SJ didn't have a single good dribbler. (& I admit that Lagos and Corrales made my earlier picks look pretty poor.)

 

The field conditions were horrendous. No one could dribble in that weather.

 

Agreed. It was incredible to see the keepers launching balls past the half INTO the wind (which both Zack and Pat did... had to be a lull in the gusts right?.. ???).

This weekend will be fun to watch. Will anyone on the Quakes dribble better than Martino? Cunningham?

 

Donovan, then daylight.

Maybe Lagos comes close. Mulrooney's no slouch, either.

But it's gotta be Landon, by a country mile.

 

What's really fun is trying to get to a through ball. It's really fun when the ball sips across the ground.