I meant to chime in on this days ago but completely forgot. So here it is:
Online CFM with the Saints (97 ovr rated team)
I've played around 12 games with the OP set with this team. I've only lost once (and it was preseason so really doesn't count). But that's not surprising since this team is stacked across the board on offense and defense. I have close games and blow outs but I always feel like I can win because they are so good.
Offline CFM with the 49ers (75 ovr rated team)
I've played 14 games with the OP set with this team. I've only won twice (one was a preseason game). It is very difficult to get things going with this team because they are so poor. I've been blown out a few times and have had some very close games my team just can't pull out. I always feel like I have to play perfect to get that win as I should.
Case in point.
RATINGS MATTER guys. With my same skill level and same exact settings/sliders I am getting polar opposite results with, wait for it, polar opposite teams. I believe that is the definition of ratings mattering (is that even a word? lol). My highly rated team makes games easier for me because they are really good. My poorly rated team makes games harder for me because they suck lol.
I've always wanted to play this game so the player ratings actually matter and not make it hard just for hards sake (sim style). I don't want to win or lose every time but I want good teams to be good and bad teams to be bad based off of ratings. I honestly think Josh has found that balance finally. Just remember, if your team is good you will probably win more often and that is fine. Your team is good.
One last thing. Money plays. Every sports game has them. It's a video game and it's pretty much unavoidable. If you run certain plays that are just.....well....money then sliders won't matter. You have to understand that and either choose to avoid them (or call them rarely) or not care and just play how you want. But you won't find a solution so complaining about it probably won't help. This isn't a knock on anyone and I'm definitely not telling you how to play. More of just a heads up.
Okay. I've rambled enough.