Time in the pocket

I didn't play the beta. But I've seen footage of it, and I have to guess based on my previous years of playing Madden that you're absolutely correct about play action passes having no shot of getting off with the current pass rush.

But let me be clear, I LOVE the new pass rush and I hope they don't change the speed at all.

Instead, what I hope they do is create better play action mechanics that properly reward the offense for establishing the run before using play action. Although I understand that there's well documented counter arguments that state the run doesn't actual impact play action success, I think it's more intuitive and good for the game if we move in that direction.

Here's conceptually what I would like to see them do to fix play action:

1, On play action passes, make the ball carrier light up as if they have the ball. This will force the user (in online mode) to respect the run a lot more. If the user moves towards the line of scrimmage, keep the ball carrier lit up. But if they back away and go into coverage, calculate success using the QB's play action pass rating as to when the ball carrier is no longer lit up. This reduces the ability of the user to play both the run and the pass effectively during play action, and allows the offense to throw over top of the defenders because they're either running to make a tackle or they're trying not to move up field to aggressively.

This will help the running game in online play because it will make it much harder to shoot the gaps without being way out of position on play action passes. It will also make it harder for the user to pursue running plays (like draws) when it looks like the QB could still have the ball on any single play. In addition, it would allow play action passing to do exactly what it's designed to do, misdirect the defense and get them out of position using similar looking plays.

2. Have the AI react appropriately using a simulated rush based on real physics. If the QB has the ball and keeps his back to the defense, the defense will play as if it's a running play. Meaning the pass rush will be greatly reduced because instead of trying to sack the QB they will be trying to cut off and tackle the ball carrier.

3. If the defense is in pass commit, play action pass should not be impacted by item 2, above.

4. If the defense is in run commit, play action pass should be most effective.