Franchise Player/CPU Sliders Have No Effect

I originally started a Franchise in Rookie mode but quickly realized there was no challenge. I could win every game 50-0 with 16 sacks on the opponent QB. So I bumped up the difficulty to Pro and now the CPU is killing me. Many of my run plays are stopped behind the line. The CPU DB's magically know the instant I choose a WR and are all over him when the ball gets there. Conversely, the CPU runs all over my defense, pilling up rushing yards and hitting big plays in the passing game. I have found "trick" offensive plays and defensive plays online that help the situation, but I would rather just play a regular game.

Someone suggested making changes to the Player and CPU skill sliders in the Franchise settings. That seemed like a perfect plan. At first, I only made small changes to things like pass blocking, run blocking, and pass coverage. It was the same story. The CPU teams would eat my lunch. So now I go in and move the Player Sliders up a significant amount and reduce the CPU sliders a significant amount. It seems to have no effect. The CPU still overpowers my team, even when I take great care to play my passing strategies or set my defenses up for good stunts or cheat them over to pick up a player that is having a great game.

I am sure if I keep at it, I will perhaps start to find ways to beat the CPU, but right now it's so frustrating that Rookie is too easy, and Pro is too hard. The slider settings should be a perfect way to dial in the exact difficulty you are looking for, but they don't seem to work. Am I missing something with the sliders?