WR Road to Glory Issues

Let me start off by saying the lack of play-calling and audibles throughout all of the RTG modes is absolutely ridiculous. There is no reason that you, as a quarterback, linebacker, or even the other modes, shouldn't have the ability to change a play based on what the offense/defense is showing you. But that's been mulled over by several different threads and I want to hone in on the Wide Receiver play.

1. When you are given the ability to change a play call, you are given two options that never change throughout the course of the game. This is determined by position dictated in the depth chart. If you are WR1, you'll get plays that target your receiver, but again, the same two plays every time. This is the same with WR2, WR3, and the Slot. This is a big sloppy * of game design, because with different teams those two plays can be either unplayable (RPOs are especially bad) or absolute cheese (looking at you Alabama WR1). This issue is more than fixable by just randomizing the plays that target your player- there is an entire portion of the play calling section that is dedicated to specific receivers so I know that for a fact.

2. This is an issue I experienced with both WR and RB: Why in the ever-loving Santa Claus sh*t does the head coach decide to take their WR1/RB1 out of the game the moment you cross your opponent's 20 yard line? My WR danced across 1,500+ yards each season, but got 5 touchdowns each season because every head coach in the nation decided that their #1 X-receiver threat was not a worthy red-zone receiver. It makes awards like Best Receiver and Heisman unfeasible, and takes the fun out of the game when you throw touchdowns to the fate of the CPUs.

2b. In addition to taking my receiver out of the game in the red-zone, the problem extends to multiple parts of the game. My QB throws an interception to Z receiver? Best to take the X receiver out of the game. The receiver couldn't convert 3rd & 25? He can think about that as he waits not the sideline till the end of the first half. 90% of my playtime with my WR/RB was crossing my fingers and toes hoping that the CPU didn't blow a 21 pt lead while my coach gave me the cold shoulder- and sure enough, they would. This feels unfair to the player and unrealistic. If my player drops 3 consecutive passes, then yes, take me out for a possession. If I call for the ball and it's picked off, give me a stern talking to by coach while the offense finishes the quarter. But keeping my player off the field for no reason feels ridiculous. Speaking of calling for a picked ball-

3. Fix the CPU passing. Running streak/fade/post routes feels useless, even when you break off your coverage. The CPU QB is legitimately incapable of putting touch on a ball when you call for it, so beating press coverage feels much like urinating in the wind. It also makes abilities such as 50/50 useless, as the QB is also incapable of high-pointing the ball when you are breaking coverage over the middle of the field. You don't need Madden24 Fred Warner to pick off that ball- Why?- because my QB throws a bullet pass directly into the arms of Kennesaw State's 65 overall MLB. There's another thread where a guy actually made a charted screenshot of where a QB should place the ball, and where he ended up placing it (interception), so find that if you want a visualization of that abomination of a design flaw.

4. There's a bug that detracts coach trust each time I make a reception claiming that I lost yardage on the reception (after making a 15+ yard reception).

5. This regards all positions, but leveling is broken. The price to pay for essential skills is way higher than it should be, I think. Grinding is fun in some respects, but grinding for half a season to accumulate enough SP for a minor increase to your speed feels pointless; those upgrades rarely feel game changing anyway. Reaching 90+ overall feels like a herculean effort when you factor in the aforementioned issues regarding playing time, CPU passing, etc.

6. Position battles are far too easy, and far too frequent. If I post a massive season with thousands of yards, or even get 20+ TD's, it won't mean a single * to the coach because my overall isn't the highest on the depth chart. So I have to play these mini-games to beat them out as the early season commences. To be clear, I'm more than happy with the fact that position battles are a feature in the game- they add a layer of immersion that has been lacking more a long time. But changing the goal marker for players of high pedigree would improve the format; for example, I had to win the WR1 position from Heisman winning WR Ryan Williams, but it only took the standard 2000 pt benchmark. They should be depending who you are battling against, and should only occur in the preseason, when you are performing poorly, or when they bring in extra talented players through the transfer portal or recruiting.

7. I'm unsure if this is just a me-problem, but I find that my WR/RB possession catches far more often than I like. It could be a timing issue where I'm pressing the X/A button as the QB decides he's throwing the ball to me anyway, but it's still quite annoying. I at least appreciate the fact that possession/RAC/aggressive catching seems more responsive in this game.

8. The dreaded bane of RTG is what follows- it is so significant to me, that it will be typed in as many font modifiers as possible: Please for the love of all that is sacred, fix the overtime play calling when your team has to kick the extra point to win the game. I've suffered heart crushing losses because my coach thinks he's Dan Campbell, and even when I beg, plead, and grovel on the turf for my coach to just kick the extra point to win, we go for two and lose.

9. I understand Michigan and Army are big run teams, so the play calling of runs on 3rd&10 seems fair. But you will not convince me that LSU would call a HB draw in those circumstances. The play calling is far too run heavy when playing as a WR, and far too pass heavy when playing as a RB. It feels as if the game wants you pass block or run block rather than, you know, catching balls and running balls.

I feel like that covers most of my issues but if there are any that I forgot to mention, please list them so that one day an EA developer might grace these problems with their eyes.