Battlefield 2 is so bug-riddled it's almost unplayable. Until you have experienced the "red name" bug several times, the very laggy and the game itself is poorly coded. Is it fun? Yes. But it's not anything I'd ever want to get "serious" with. BF2 is by far from one of the best FPSes out there. It is, however, one of the most popular.
Madden may be a staple in electronic football, but every year there is so little change in the game you may as well call them "Roster Update 2006". Yet, people continue to shell out for it in hopes a new player gets a few stat boosts, or they can play their favorite rookie.
And I'm not going to put words in Marajade's mouth, but the "flops" are when they put a game out, such as C&C Generals: Zero Hour (which I understand was a big RTS hit), or even Battlefield 2, and continue to leave major bugs and balance issues in the game unchecked, all but abandoning said games in favor of putting out more fun-for-a-while product. EA doesn't give a shit about the people PLAYING the games, they're just a business here to make money. I find it very ironic that a company whose slogan, "Challenge Everything", changes and challenges almost nothing, from title to title.
Note: I did hear that Friday Night FIghts for the 360 was pretty nice, though.