Yeah, I agree it's definitely tougher than last year. A few things I have learned that help though:
1 - don't use the sprint button until you are past the D-line of possible. For whatever reason they seem to have coded the game to make defenders shed blocks as soon as you press sprint.
2 - Pre-snap, look at the blocking assignments with LT + left on the right stick. It helps to see who pulling lineman are going to try to block and cut behind them. I do find it frustratingly inconsistent though with pulling guards sometimes going for a linebacker and other times going for DE