I actually played real football. Like on a field, under lights, with a uniform representing my high school and everything. Even got a concussion and blew out a knee. Backbreaker is not real football. Madden is not real football. You want REAL football, go outside and play with flesh and blood friends. What I want from my GAME is as close to a simulation of football as possible, and that goes beyond the game on the field. I need atmosphere, I need color, I need variation, I need motivation...in that regard, despite Madden's failures, it is leagues and leagues beyond BB. Football is much more than just the game on the field. If that was all that mattered we'd all be watching soccer right now.
BTW, BB's on field game isn't even that great beyond the physics (which are simply awesome, but the fixed camera makes me wonder what goes on away from the ball...) I'd take canned animations with a full American football rule set over the arcade-y rule set of Backbreaker.