C'mon now, both sides are making huge assumptions when it comes to "casual" gamers. Most of my friends played Madden less than I did (when the game first came out), yet they were all better at using the cone better than I could. It wasn't perfect in it's implementation, so as such should be an option. I'm not saying this as if it's some definitive statement; just saying that it's hard to say what so-called casual gamers really want.
If EA's going to cater more to these casual gamers, why not NFL Blitz the game up more then making it super-accessible? I can't count the number of times a player like Jamal Lewis is tackled in the open field by a DB and you have someone hurling a controller saying it shouldn't have occurred. Just because people don't take the time to visit videogame football forums doesn't mean they don't understand basic football concepts.