i hate to say it but i'm starting to agree with konex as well about EQ. there are still instances of bad DB AI, bad blocking, etc, but somehow someway (maybe coincedence, but thats a tough sell for me) the games turn out to be more realistic. the major problem i had with EQ were with the drops, but i get the same drops without it on so whats the difference?
i did play DM without EQ on with the new rosters. the results were so-so. i was the chiefs, he was the cardinals. the final score was 39-34 i won. that's not so unrealistic (2 "bad" defense), but what i didn't like is how easily holmes ran. i know priest is a good back, but it took absolutely no effort for me to get most of my yards. true, i got tackled 4 or 5 times behind the line of scrimage, but for the most part i was able to rip off nice chunks of yardage very easily.
it's a tough debate. but look at it this way (real life example): the 49ers are rated by ESPN and Madden in the bottom 3 teams in the league (ratings wise). i can compete with the 49ers in madden, infact i can win a lot of games, because madden rewards you for good playcalling and good execution. in ESPN, with EQ off, it is nearly impossible for me to win with the 49ers because espn DOESN'T reward you for calling the correct plays, and it DOESNT reward you for executing plays. to balance this out, i think EQ is the way to go. in ESPN, i would get blown out against the falcons, and i would get blown out against the Saints. in real life those two things didn't happen, they don't happen in madden, and they shouldn't happen in ESPN.
i'll be playing a lot more EQ games, cause i need more time to see if it actually does what i think it's doing (and after 6 EQ games it appears that way), but right now i am leaning toward EQ.
bottom line is ESPN is a broken game no matter how you look at it (EQ or not), but I think EQ takes away at least SOME of the garbage you see with default.