Willie,
it is all linked together: selecting the wrong people to be pilots, not training them properly on the fundamentals of flying, then leads to a culture of automanship/SOPship instead of airmanship. A system emerges which is perpetuating itself: not properly selected and trained pilots will create incidents, which will lead to stricter automation policies and tighter flight data monitoring, and a more punishing culture, since the people judging and punishing also don't know better, and the vicious circle continues. Grandchildren of the magenta line.
You need the basic ability to keep your aircraft in a safe envelope at all times, in all flight phases, at all altitudes, by flying pitch an power. Period. This is not negotiable.
Once you have mastered this, you can start to become part of a companies culture, which uses automation to its full benefit, which however also regularly practises hand flying, including FD off and autothrust off.
Such companies exist, and they have some rules, when not to hand fly, and also a non-written culture when it is appropriate to do so. In such a culture, the flight data monitoring guys will also judge you, however they will know that regular appropriate handflying is part of the job, and it will not be a nitpicking exercise like one guy who said that he was called to the office for manually avoiding stall warning in a wind drop instead of waiting until the AP drops out when approaching stall.
Most pilots will understand what I mean. And this does not mean non-discipline towards SOPs or cowboy-style flying.
In such a culture, you develop a different look on your instruments, you will instinctively realise when a FD is useful and when it is indicating sheeeeeed. Your instrument scanning will also be much better in fully automated flight. You will have much more capacity to oversee everything that is happening around you, your situational awareness will increase tremendously. Your eyes will constantly wonder around, all the instruments, outside view, etc, and you will never be just staring on a FD, because you know how to position your ship in the air and you let it fly. You will not stir your stick or yoke.
Once you have reached that level, you will never ever missrotate in such a blatantly wrong way as it seems has happened on that 777.