I think a lot of people who both blindly praise and criticize various game developers don't really know much about game development. I also believe the best fans of a given thing are those who take a middle line - they know what they like has room for improvement, but they don't just hate it blindly. They also know how to explain what they like about that thing, but they won't exactly worship the ground they walk on, either.
For example, I'm a fan of the Pokemon games, but I think GameFreak's relatively small staff size is what holds them back the most, even with the likely outsourcing they do with Creatures Inc. and TPCI. I also don't know if development time could be a factor, as Pokemon games get released real often - could GameFreak be under pressure by TPCI to rush games out? I'm not too sure, since I believe they work on a given game for at least a couple years.
So that's what I mean. We'll likely never know how PD (or GameFreak) operates due to many layers of NDAs - as they would be likely trade secrets - and what sort of advantages/flaws they may have in their structure and development process. But I don't mind that terribly - what does bother me is people who claim a developer can do no wrong, or always does wrong. Stay rational!