The way I see it, if the animations are automatic, it could definitely be a cue for when to throw the ball, or when to look for the outlet receiver, ASSUMING EA designs the play books (especially the WCO ones) so that the routes of the receivers match the QB footwork (unless they are jammed, of course).
Another thing they should do is instead of having yellow and orange routes when you look at the play art, they should color code them for the proper progression you're supposed to take. Maybe like, Red, orange, Yellow, then blue for outlet, and maybe white for a built- in hot route?
That makes me sad. I mean, why not just have an option for sim or arcade? For sim mode, add in the hitch steps and so forth. For arcade, just turn it off and use the Madden waddle.