Hey there, curious what modes you are talking about, as it may add some context to your ideas. I am a primarily EASHL player (and not a Madden player) so I may not get the full context. With regards to EASHL, the old playoff format was win 4 in a row with no losses, and you get 2 tries. Led to some highly exicting individual games but I actually think the current system (4 rounds, best of 7) is better. Especially with matchmaking allowing large ranking disparities.
On your second point, grouping up with a couple buds pretty much sounds like EASHL. Unless you meant something like HUT or online Vs (which used to allow coach-guests to play with you).