I do not think it has anything to do with lower standards. I think standards have been raised to a point that we aren't satisfied with the same caliber of game we used to play.
Lets look at the "hey-day" of EA football (roughly 2003-2007). I played those games endlessly. I also did not have a ton of other options. I don't like RPGs. I played a little HALO, but it wasn't my thing (Xbox, so no Socom). Basketball games were mediocre (CH2k8 is still the standard... that did not come out until 2007). Hockey games were a joke. Baseball games were hit or miss...mostly miss.
Right now I have The Show, which I still play pretty frequently. You have Call of Duty/Battlefield (pick your preference). I also play a little Fifa and a little NHL.
I just have a lot more choices then I did before, so I'm not going to play-through an imperfect game because it's my best option.
Now, the 2009-10 versions of EA football were atrocious. Those were the years with the game-killer glitches, the no-pass rush year and the year the game was on hyper-speed. That was also before they fixed the run blocking and added the option reads to the game. That stuff was fixed up (not perfect, but better) and the games we have now are quality, but they are not the best options available to us anymore.