Why would I take offense to this? You know, it's funny because I thought about the "reverse placebo" thing last night, and promised myself that today, I would give the game a chance, to see if there was anything I could do to correct some of the changes the patch made. I came home from work and spent the afternoon with the game. The game speed is much faster and feels much less fluid. The players lack the sense of weight that existed before the patch. The animations feel much more robotic. Last night, I noticed that my test running back's legs would get tangled up in an odd animation I most definitely did not see before the patch, and the movement actually caused a stutter.
Pass defense seems dumbed down, as the secondary lacks the aggression they had pre-patch. Admittedly, you are right that this game was a disappointment, as it has been since Madden 12, so, you are correct in your point that I am looking for issues within the game. But, that is what I do... I analyze... I am sure that what I am seeing after the patch is not placebo.