Hmmmm....I'd say the main thing is timing. You have to know which way your guy will jump and move. Like on PS2, pressing the D-Pad right&up together with triangle will make him jump up to the right, sort of bodying the CB. Same thing if you press the D-Pad left button&up and triangle. I've been doing manual catch in Football games since forever so its so normal to me. I don't even feel right letting the CPU catch a pass.
I'd recommend going into the Catch Ball drill with a WR with speed. Just get used to making the play on your own and then practice it. After you've done good with a speedy WR, try some of the slower ones or even better, try it with a TE.
**I'm not seeing the Catch Ball drill in the normal Mini Games so you may have to go into Franchise mode just to practice it for a bit.