Online play was never and will never be like playing offline. There will always be some kind of lag. I know it's easy to blame EA, but have you ever contacted Charter and made sure your **** is up to date. If you're consistently getting lag, it may be you.
I've had lag, but maybe a handful of games. Yes, it sucks, but it's something you have to deal with when playing online. There are many, many variables that have to be compensated for.