NCAA 2011 and Madden 2010 are better games, Gameflow and actual gameplay are a 100% complete turn for the worse
Some significant negatives on the field that really detract from the overall experience:
-Gameflow. Completely unneeded, ridiculous feature that actually takes away from the feel of the game, creates a jarring "flow" between plays, and reduces tactical decision making online. Why did my team just call two screens in a row? Worse yet, when the game calls the wildcat, you have no way of audibling out of this formation! You're stuck. Your only other alternative is not having the wildcat formation at all...and let's be honest--will 90% of folks use this online in ranked matches? Absolutely not. An unneeded gimmick that Madden developers should be flat-out embarrassed that this is their marque feature this year.
-Player AI. How did player AI actually get worse this year! Blockers that stand around, etc. Two examples--offensive linemen who STAND STILL after the snap, letting defenders in unmolested is almost game-breaking. FBs, pulling Guards that run right by an Outside LB and instead of getting a 10+ yd gain (as this was the lone defender within 10 yds!) you get a -2 yd loss. Embarrassingly bad.
-Jarring commentary. Yes, I like the commentators, but the voice-over work was done so poorly that it sounds like "Max Headroom" made sweet love to the Saturday Night Live guy who "I CAN'T CONTROL THE VOLUME OF MY VOICE!!" For example, "PETERSON...*long pause*....RUSHES FOR...*long pause* 6 YARDS!" With an incorrectly captured Collingsworth's voice quietly adding color commentary afterwards.
I could go on about the poor on-the-field gameplay, but it's a farce. A joke. Quite frankly, the Madden team should be embarrassed, as NCAA 2011 is MORE FUN than this debacle--shoot, even their product from last year is MORE FUN and MORE REALISTIC (Madden 2010).
What's even more disturbing is the "professional" review scores. I'll give Gamespot some credit, at least their review is almost a full point lower than the "pro" average--but 8.7 overall critic review score, when the average user's score is only a 6.5? There's a disconnect here folks...