Agreed. The PS2/XBox/NGC days weren't perfect but the game play commands and options constantly got better. From playmaker pre-snap to defensive playmaker, hit stick, formation audibles, formation shift, quick audible [which was the real name IIRC to what you described, Formation Audibles are what you called quick audibles] the truck stick, then the highlight stick, slide protection etc.
09 brought a lot of stuff over from the last gen to our current gen, however much more has yet to make the leap that should have years ago.