This has been a fun read. It echoes a lot of my feelings.
Regarding the old man complaints:
I am 35, or will be in a couole weeks, and have played electronic fooball going back to the SNES and in my teenage years played some of those retro games for fun.
I never bought a PS4/XBox1. I still have 360 games in their original plastic wrap such as the original Red Dead Redemption, Alan Wake, Bioshock and so on. I just cannot justify buying a console for offline single player games when I haven't started, let alone finished, many classic games. More so when there aren't any modern games I want outside of Madden.
Regarding offline play:
A feature from PS2 era Madden that I never saw the 360 era Madden bring back were camera fakes. Since Madden 04-08, if you called a play action, the camera followed the runner as though they had the ball for that half second or full second to sell it before dropping back to the passing camera. The player indicator also followed the runner and really sold it. The same for the fake FB dive HB pitch. That was really missed. As it is on the 360, and I can only assume even now), it is no longer part of the game anymore.
Offline franchise/ccm is how I enjoy the game, much like many other players here. As a result, a solid draft and scouting process, trade logic and the AI willing tontrade with itself and all of the things which happen in Madden 25 is another reason why I have been in no hurry to "update" to newer versions.
Regarding coach mode/game play:
As a nieve and ignorant kid/teenager, I was convinced that Madden 02/03/04 fooball was authentic NFL football within the limits of video games. As I grew up and learned more about the sport, I realized that Madden is closer to High School football than it is to NFL or college ball. Many people have felt that NCAA plays a better game of football, and while indivodual examples are true, I also felt that the expectation from the college game vs the pro game is another reason why.
In ither threads, we talk about schemes and technique and game plans and so forth. Senator Palmer in another thread was talking about how he really only uses about 6 defensive calls, and I agree. While I cannot speak on Madden 20, a legacy issue in Madden has been when a Left or Right tackle will slide across the formation at the snap to block an overload blitz. Even a back side guard wpuld slide over to the opposite B gap to help block. There is a big difference between "looking for work" and what happen(s/ed) in Madden 25 and prior (the games I can comment on.
When I was a part of community day for Madden 11, I made this one of the many areas I tried to get fixed with my feedback and was able to do so... until the first game play patch broke it again. If you play Madden 11 on the disc with no hard drive or updates and offline as printed and set up an overload blitz against a spread 5 man protection, you can see a backside guard or tackle try to slide over and hit an invisible wall preventing them from going more than one gap over and sliding across the formation to unrealistically pick it up. They did it after lunch in a couple hours (to find it, fix it, and test that it did not break things). Yet... it did not last long. It was nice while it lasted.
Well, blitzing in Madden does little more than add another pass rusher who will get blocked. As a result, I personally never send more than 4 at the AI QB, as it is a waste of time and your coverage will be shredded.
As a result, my custom playbooks (4-3 & 3-4) are just different front and a combination of basic coverages with 4 pass rushers, with as few stunts as possible - as those are also not done well.
The AI does not get tricked by coverage rolls and complicated concepts - which also tend to be poorly executed anyway. Instead, and as I mentioned earlier, I tend to treat the game like high school football and sticking to fundamentals rather than complex tactics you would find at the highest levels. For example, look no further than this fantastic breakdown:
https://youtu.be/yQxt_j3BEvc
Regarding "slider-itis":
This is very real. As a community, we have different expectations, styles, and things we will forgive vs what we demand.
I have found what works for me and enjoy the imperfect game the best I can.
It seems like some parts of modern madden are improving while other aspects have failed to meet the standards set in the past.
I have returned to the forms this year after so many years away in hopes of seeing a game worth buying. For as much as I still enjoy Madden 25, that is a 6 year old game (2013 NFL season).