That's not really the case, from my perspective (at least, whenever I play solo), I always have to go against those who are the best in the lobby. I know this because I can actually be defeated by one-on-one gunfights in most lobbies (whether it's that they're using a weapon that outclasses mine, using dead silence/awareness, camping in one spot, etc.). However, I just adapt and overcome. If you look at most of my gameplay, you'd see the majority of my kills are when I have the advantage (such as being behind them or to the side, prepared for a gunfight, etc.). Meanwhile, I can still manage to do good and get high streaks because I'm always attacking from a different angle, not because I'm better or that they suck. I've gotten Motherships against full parties and prestige masters who are incredibly good (and admittedly sometimes they overwhelm me too), but I just do my best to know my enemy and best them.
An example of what I mean is in Fringe (the same game in which we lost after winning). When I started, I knew that the majority of the enemies were good players and knew what they were doing. Whereas I eventually got my streaks and 64 kills, what did my teammates keep doing? They kept rushing B through the exact same route while I took the least popular areas of the map to navigate and flank them. They even got a RAPS ship and Wraith against us, yet I still managed to overcome and be as valuable as a teammate as I could have been. This is how most games go. I would be fine would a moderate amount of competition (not to an excessive level), but at the very least I need teammates that can hold their own and are aware of what they're doing.
So I would argue no, I am DEFINITLEY not playing against sucky players, that's a rare occurrence.
