welp played my first game and here is what i saw/think:
positives:
+ inaccurate throws are nice
+ running game is much better than last year
+ new animations are good i guess
+ better pocket formation
+ defense is more realistic. cards were playing man to man and my slot receiver had the CB beat. i threw it to him but there was a cardinal nearby covering my TE who was finishing his route, but the cards guy stayed with him on the route until it was too late to react to my other guy. the pass was caught as it should be!
+ to the guy who mentioned it earlier, i had a play at the goalline with limus sweed where they conferenced and ruled it NO touchdown. i watched the replay and it looked awfully close. looked like they spotted it where his knee went down and not if the ball was over the plane prior! but at least we know they can say no TD
+ no rocket catches that i saw
+ not only do i love the SPEED of the game, i love the speed differences. steve breaston was a real monster out there on the quick outs and the deep posts. my nickle CB just couldn't keep up with him in a foot race. exactly what i want.
+ conversely, breaston was demolished over the middle by a couple steelers LB's and dropped the ball.
negatives:
- the damn over the shoulder catch animation. i like it, but i saw it probably 8-12 times and in situations where it wasn't needed. out route with ward which he should have just caught in the breadbasket turns into an over the shoulder catch (even though he's moving sideways) and into the warp/tackle animation of the CB who knocks the ball away
- a bit of qb cheese! i scrambled outside of the pocket with rapistburger and was about to get sacked with my back to the line of scrimage but i throw to hines about 10 yards away and somehow i make the throw for a completion. two things, first off this was an absolute bullcrap completion and should have been a sack and/or fumble, but in looking at the replay the completion shouldn't have happened anyways but the CB got tangled up with the ref :/ i hope this isn't a common occurance. i like the realism but im going to be fucking pissed if i get fucked on a play like that in a crucial moment because my CB can't avoid the damn ref
- RB blocking leaves a lot to be desired. on one of my TD passes, i had a RB in to block and the cards MLB was coming free up the middle. the RB is looking RIGHT AT HIM as he's approaching, but my rb suddenly shifts over to the right to help on the DE coming off a block. i like the help approach but this made no sense because he was literally a foot from being able to block the MLB who was closer to the qb
- suction blocking. on one play i had heath miller block the DE, then he slid off him and sucked in the SS who was waiting a few yards away. the SS would have made the tackle on the toss too!
- as someone said earlier, it seemed like the cards had just the right amount of protection to stop my blitzing most of the time. i suppose they could've just "guessed right", cause i did have 4 sacks (1 manual, 1 as a result of me speed rushing outside and pushing warner back into hampton, and two on overloads to one side), and i did have a good number of hits on the qb, but it also seemed like when i REALLY blitzed them they had all-in protection.
- double teams on fitzgerald were fucking worthless. i had my cb bumping him and then fucking polamalu just sits back in the secondary waiting by the sideline. well guess what it was a slant dipshit, so now not only is my cb out of position (fitzgerald justifiably got off the bump easily), but my double team help is in even WORSE position because he did nothing to start with. this could just be fitz being a beast but troy just stood there
overall it was a good flow to the game. love the speed, love the ratings differences. the game needs some work in the animation dept (not happening this year) and other things, but overall it looks to be the best madden of next gen and FINALLY approaching what we had with madden 06 xbox in terms of control and sim-ness!