This is some interesting stuff. I'd like to chime in...
The only difference I see though, is that back then I think gamers expectations were much different, and advances were rather pedestrian as opposed to say the jumps we got in games from 16-bit to 32 or 32/64 to 128. Compared to what preceeded Tecmo Bowl on consoles, Tecmo Bowl was the clear cut next level game for it's time until Madden really took off. And even after, Tecmo Super Bowl made a really huge impact to the point that it went down as a GOAT game.
The problem for Madden (and I think the source of a lot of criticism from hardcore Madden players) is that at this point in history it's not only having to stand up to the legacy it built during it's renaissance period of the 1990's, but also against later franchises that broke the mold and made a lasting historical mark (NFL 2K5). Even more, many hold the belief that the last gen Madden is still a better game. I personally feel the game controls better now than last gen. Last year, glitches killed the game, but the core of what it was in terms of gameplay feel, played and moved smoother than any Madden before it.
I put in bold the part that stood out to me. See, things like that could use a slider. I know I sound like a broken record (lol), but the more ways we can control the game, the better the experience will be for each individual player.
There will always be people (myself included) who'll say this or that happens too much or too little because we have little or no control over its frequency. I'll even step out and say that a great deal of suggestions and complaints have to do with "too much or too little". But with more sliders and more turn on/turn offs the complaints will become fewer because now the control will be in the users hands...
If players slip too much or too little, with options it'll be up to the end user to make the adjustment to get it where he wants it. User doesn't like the color vividness, or picture brightness/darkness/contrast? If the user has options, the user can fix it himself. User doesn't think the game is fast enough or slow enough or medium enough (lol)? Speed slider... user fix.
And as long as the options and sliders have the intended effect on what it's supposed to effect (in other words, the sliders do what they're programmed to do), I truly believe people will have fewer complaints about those things and I say that because of this; in Madden '08, the fumble issue was a big deal for many people. Even turning things down to '0' had no effect, so people still complained, and now the complaint became "I turned it down to '0' and it STILL didn't do anything!"
I might be rambling a bit, but I hope I'm making sense
I just think leaving the user more control as fail-safe's may not only make a lot more people happy, but it may also take a lot of the yearly pressure off of you guys in terms of the impossibility of knowing how 6 Million+ people will take to a concrete feature that can't be modified. I'd be a nervous wreck about that myself, lol.