My point with that last paragraph was sort of to point out that I look at it differently than most. Yes, I do feel 2k5's locomotion was more natural feeling than any NextGen Madden, but honestly, I preferred lastgen Madden's locomotion to 2k5's.
One of the things that bugs the heck out of me with 2k is that "fishtail" effect that changing direction has. It's really apparent in defensive linemen. It's like the pivot point for the player model is somewhere a foot or so behind the player and it looks and feels really unnatural.