You won't get an argument from me that '04 was the best in the series, I 100% agree with that.
I also agree that the game has been very stale and running in place for a few years for the most part, part of me is worried that football videogames have reached their ceiling. But in fair share to EA's defense, they have made some improvements to the game that made it more enjoyable. It's just while they took a step forward in one direction (running) they took two steps back in another area (defense, super-human DB's and LB's).
I've hardly played a football game for the last two years (either Madden or NCAA) after playing them religiously up through '04.