The game isn't as bad as some of the reviews I've read and compared to CFB26, it's superior. I play Franchise mostly and I can say that Madden has taken steps in the right direction. The presentation is great, visually it is on point. I like the weekly recap, and immersive elements of Franchise. You definitely need to develop the coaches talents, which makes games feel a little more important. The NFL is truly anyone can win every week and Madden does make you feel that. But gameplay still needs improvement. CPU QB's still complete 80-90% of their passes is ridiculous. Poor DB coverage still getting beat over the top and an imbalanced wear and tear system. It's almost like Madden and CFB series trade poor practices (or they just implement the same broken code). They just can't make a realistic football simulation. When I play the CPU I should feel like they make good plays to win not scripted scenarios where my skill level doesn't matter. They capitalize on my mistakes not me being forced into a bad play because "I'm not supposed to win". EA needs competition badly or they will continue to put out subpar products.
There needs to be a strong push to get 2K and Visual Concepts in the video game football space.