This forum would absolutely meltdown if the game handled ratings realistically. No one would accept it because they want to buy into the fantasy that their superior GM and head coach abilities would prevent down years.
Can you imagine if your starting HB went down, and then the rookie back-up was suddenly rated as the best HB win the league? Kareem Hunt says hi!
The problem is that the eye test just doesn't work in a video game. You can't hide the ratings and try to organically set a depth chart. And if you can view the ratings, how much credit do you think a guy gets for starting the best HB?
One option could be that you take the ratings that you see, and then each game each and every rating becomes a random number from 10 below to 10 higher than the the rating you see. Maybe that ratings reset every three games? So a slump can happen, and then maybe even get extended. Or maybe he recovers and plays over his head for a few games.
And I've always thought career trends should match real life models. A player might have a late bloomer model, or a breakout rookie that never plays well again. Or a career guy that goes up and down.
How would you feel if the ratings of each player on the field were hidden and changed from game to game, or every three or four games? What if players got worse for three seasons, and then suddenly had last hurrah? What if your rookie of the year never plays well enough to start again?
It's all real. And it would result in the masses flipping their lids.