This is a long comment, but I was watching some videos on how crappy Madden 21 is this year and how they never seem to make improvements in the areas most needed, just $60 for an updated set of rosters, etc., etc. you know the drill.
I am a professional programmer (though not a game developer). So I want to distinguish between the individual developers, whom I give great props to, vs. the MANAGEMENT team, which appears stuck in neutral. I am also willing to concede that a lot of the customization we're looking for is probably limited by the license they signed with the No Fun League. I'm willing to give benefit of the doubt that the developers are passionate gamers and programmers who take pride in their work and really want to do their best, but are hamstrung by the NFL's own restrictions, and the ineptitude of the leadership team.
I'm also a football fan, but not an expert. I've never played or coached at any level, not even Pop Warner. So suffice to say I'm not an Xs and Os expert, and minor AI flaws will not be noticeable to me. In fact, most of the AI glitches pointed out in videos such as these, I don't even realize they're there until I watch the video.
Also as a programmer I have some sympathy for the devs when it comes to things like AI. It's nearly impossible to program computer controlled players to simulate the real-life decisions of a human player, so the
game play will ALWAYS have glitches, no matter how much time and effort and dev time they put into it. Further, I will also concede that "Madden 21 - Now with New and Improved Franchise Mode" isn't exactly a selling point. So they need a new shiny object to put in every year. Therefore I can forgive the occasional AI glitch, or "that safety is taking 5 steps back instead of 3 because the cloud coverage should dictate he picks up the slot receiver unless the X comes into his zone" type of stuff. (That's probably gibberish but you get the point).
However, what IS unforgivable is the same features having the same bugs year after year - UI issues, broken features, missing features. Just one example: When going through the community files, each category must load completely before you can move to the next category. So if you want to download draft classes and it's the 3rd tab over, it can take you a minute to get there because you have to let all the rosters load, then R1 over to the playbooks, let them all load, etc. This is individually a very minor thing but there are many such things that add up, point to poor UI design, and cumulatively make you wonder if they're even aware of these things. "
But surely the devs that you defend so much could just pop in and fix those things!" Well, maybe. If they're aware of them. The thing with development is that as an individual developer, your 40 hours a week or whatever are set up in very specific tasks. With such a large dev team in such a complex game, I imagine there are strict assignments given out and strict rules as to who is allowed to touch what. So I might see some menu item that's not working right but if I fix it, then someone else's code that relies on that item will break. So it's not like anyone can just pop in and mess with the UI because that can affect the tasks of other devs. So easier said than done.
Although I've given in and bought every new Madden going back about 20 years, I think I will skip this year, at least until the price drop and possibly Franchise is upgraded mid-year. What is unforgivable, in my opinion, are errors and bugs that unlike AI are very avoidable. As the video states, glitchy modes (though I've never used Face of Franchise - 95% of what I do is franchise and until that improves I won't be buying it this year) with the bland storylines, missing features, features that were removed, and when the same stupid bugs and poor UI and game design show up year after year with barely an acknowledgement that they're present - that to me is a sign of poor leadership at the top. That's why I will not be buying the game this year.
So I actually want to give a shout out to the individual developers. 
I do NOT believe this is their fault! I actually feel bad for the developers themselves. Most programmers, monopoly or not, take great personal pride in what they do and consider it a personal mission to deliver the best product possible. But when you're limited by draconian licensing agreements, and an incompetent management team that doesn't have to worry about competition, I imagine it can become a draining experience. If I ever won a million dollar lottery, one of the first things I'd do is start my own gaming company, make a version that's non-licensed so the No Fun League can't get involved, but allow infinite customization of teams, logos, divisions, so that we can have a real "fan-made" NFL.
When you think of it, NFL licensing is pretty over-rated. These days with Internet gaming, there's no restrictions on gamers and fans getting together and making their own version of the NFL including logos and uniforms. As long as the game itself doesn't come with these things, the NFL can't sue individual users for what they do on their own computers! And best of all, I'd hire all EA's developers away so they can work for a company that respects their talents and lets them write a game the way THEY know it needs to be done.