1. One on one battles across the board seem completely overhauled. WR/DB, OL/DL, LB/RB all seem to have a bunch of singular battles out there. I was posting some videos in my league chat last night while everybody was waiting for it to download, and even in slow motion, the hand fighting is pretty impressive.
https://v.groupme.com/9847472/2015-08-1 ... 8x320r.mp4
You've got to throw the ball on time (even though I was a hair late there, it's easy to see in slow mo I guess), the man coverage is much tighter in the limited time I've had so far. In this one, I went up for what I thought was a sure pick, and it started out that way. But by the time they landed, A.J. Green stole it from me and it was a simultaneous catch, that he was awarded possession on:
https://v.groupme.com/9847472/2015-08-1 ... 8x320r.mp4
2. The fear about the "Aggressive Catch being overpowered" is a non-issue from what I've seen so far. There was one catch all night where I just thought "bullsh*t!!!!", because the WR lept up between my safety and CB and snagged it with a twisting, leaping grab. But it was Calvin Johnson, so that was quickly replaced by the realization that the ratings play a huge factor in those 1 on 1 battles again. The good corners were draped all over my #1 WR, and I threaded some passes into some tiny windows, but I also threw some picks when the CB was staring right at me.
3. I had a much better success rate with man coverage than I did in Madden 15. If the corners are playing inside technique, it's VERY difficult for those WRs to get an inside release. The slot receiver still can, but many times the CB playing inside technique will keep them step for step on that slant/PA cross. And combining that with the "Play Receiver" button of A now, you get some pretty aggressive plays.
https://v.groupme.com/9847472/2015-08-1 ... 8x320r.mp4
4. In my last game of the evening, I decided to play exclusively as Khalil Mack vs. a buddy. He looked every bit the dominant defender that he is. First snap, he tried to run away from him (he's the Rams), but Mack absolutely blew by Greg Robinson and tackled the ball carrier for a 2 yard loss on a strong power the other way. If it was a 1 on 1 block, Robinson was hopelessly outmatched. He started running away every time, so I started doing the "DE Flip" packages on and off, moving him right and left, and before long all I was hearing was "f*cking Mack". QB hits, pressures, hurries, sacks, 4 tackles for loss in the running game. It was like J.J. Watt level of disruption, which leads me to:
5. Robo QBs are finally gone. Completely. Default settings, Andy Dalton completed 53% of his passes in that game I played against him. You don't get any more frozen ropes when getting hit (they flutter to the ground or pop up for picks), and the CPU QBs actually display a little awareness now, instead of standing there like statues getting crushed:
https://v.groupme.com/9847472/2015-08-1 ... 8x320r.mp4
6. In general, the cut-and-plant animations and physics are better. You can easily scat through the line and get shifty. I broke off a couple of nasty runs last night, one of which just looked like a "real" run. Minor cuts and moves, made one guy really miss and then I was gone.
I also got destroyed in a random teams game vs. a buddy who almost never beats me. His random team was the Lions, and mine was the Bills. The Bills QBs are really, really bad. I've never seen so many balls missing by just-enough-to-be-incomplete, or 10 yards off and right to a safety. What made it worse was when the throws WERE on, my WRs would drop the ball. I changed QBs like socks, and had 7 turnovers by the time the game was done, losing huge (something like 31-14). Against the same buddy when I had Derek Carr, he was throwing almost everything in the correct location and I had only 1 turnover (on an attempted fade route that I threw too early).
I don't know....after one evening, I'm absolutely drooling to go get back after it again after work.
