Madden football games were much deeper years ago. Franchise and career modes were so much more fun. In Madden '06 you could literally choose your parents to determine what sort of physical and mental potential you could inherit from them. Like what the heck, you can't do that at all in modern Madden. So many options to customize your entire experience. So many examples but it would take forever to write.
Since 2006 they've stripped and warped BOTH career and franchise modes to the point where it doesn't resemble anything from those glory days. It's like they purposely went against the fans. Today's Madden is purely about graphics, online play, and in-game purchases. Pretty disappointing. I still like Madden because I like football, but a part of me is depressed that those fun Madden days are gone.
Sorry kind of a rant but great post!