My issues with Madden all stem from having played football all my life up to college- at which point I was too scrawny to play at that level. I know how football works and this is not how it works.
It downplays the importance of linemen. The AI isn't smart enough to handle it. Guards and tackles CAN'T pull properly to do a traditional trap or counter play, where the left guard pulls to push out the right defensive tackle while the right guard hits the midddle linebacks, or where the left tackle takes out the right end.
Instead what happens in these pull plays is you get such a mess of linemen crashing into each other that there's really no point- you might as well just have all the blocking be done man-on. It doesn't give a momentum bonus to a pulling linemen, when in fact the reason those plays work in the first place, is the pulling offensive linemen gets that additional 3 or 4 steps of momentum so they can easily bump out the defensive man.,
I can go on, but that's a major gripe I have with the game. They've not once even tried to solve the problem of getting linemen to do what they're supposed to do. It's like fantasy football: assume they aren't there and just think about the backs. What you get is the most braindead linemen who will let the defense run over your quarter back while they stand there right beside him doing absolutely nothing if that wasn't the defensive player they were pre-programmed to handle. They don't have any sort of "priority" system where they'll lose their guy to take on a more pressing threat.
Not sure about the lineman. How about the fact that you can single coverage Megatron like he doesn't command a double team or at the very least safety help on every play. Honestly, big players aren't big time in Madden except players with speed. The weak clowns that play that broken version of the game will retort, however, this isn't the case. I demand a fumble or broken up pass every time that I hit stick you with Willis over the middle. I also demand that cornerbacks not get automatically done in by out routes in man coverage. If I have Revis or Haden out there then I dare you, but of course it's free for the offense.
On top of all this, you have to user audible literally 10-15 times to set up your defense to get a proper blitz. I wish I could find the website but a coach once broke down why blitzing won't work in Madden. If anything, the offensive line is too op. I never remember a stretch play or counter not working for me if I set it up properly from multiple formations. Also, stretch plays only work with certain teams that revolve their running game around the stretch run. Texans for instance don't go straight ahead well. Also, Patriots don't bomb it every time.
I think a lot of struggles also stem from misinformation in the sense that just because Denver is a passing team doesn't mean you run every passing scheme with them. In relation to say Green Bay, Denver dinks and dumps while the packers run developed routes nearer the 10-20 yard range.
Another problem that needs to be addressed is the easiness of the read option. This isn't college football and you should not be allowed to base an NFL gamelan around the read option. It was a craze because the quarterback kept the ball a few times last year and before, however, realistically speaking only about 20% of those calls were actual reads. They were going to Lynch and Gore the entire time as far as Seattle and San Francisco are concerned. This is based upon numerous interviews, and I like to hear Russell Wilson speak because of the way he handles himself. And Kaepernick had also mentioned how little he is actually reading. This isn't for scheme sake, but simply for protection of your most valuable player.
Let's even discuss football at its most basic. 2 safeties = I'm running the ball.... Extra man in the box = I'm throwing or running a draw/screen against an aggressive defense. Can you do that in Madden??? Hell to the no!!! What is one thing the quarterback is looking at when he gets under center? Size of the box in order to check run or pass. Not to mention press alignment, man alignment, deep shell, lineman techniques, blitz packages, does this defense roll zones, and do they trap when they blitz, etc.
I think they need to get back to the basics before they tweak this pretty stuff. Hardly anybody knows why you zone blitz away from strength anyway so fix the small, simple stuff then move on to the true NFL tactics.
