TD Howdy.
Pointed questions generally have a point, that is true, but the ones I write down are as consistent with a round table discussion of accident reconstruction as with a courtroom drama.
The Pilots are not charged, so your opinion that they represent a 'defense' are thus far off the mark.
As I have posted here before, the latitude you point out re: the 'Pilots' inures more to the Airline than to the crew.
Latitude by Proxy, then? One cannot "protect the crew" without hiding the Line's culpability. Is this conscious? Ever the sceptic, my answer is YES.
They HIRE, They FIRE, and hopefully, they TRAIN. Taken at face value, one is hard pressed to establish any conclusion at this point that does not roundly condemn the Airline. As it should be.
Foot dragging on the Probes, lack of high altitude APPROACH TO STALL recovery, and a very apparent lack of training in automatic handoff with LAW degrade at CRUISE. Let's be generous to the 'crew' and also include a lack of training in recognition of OVERSPEED (or its LACK).
Pressuring for a 'quieting' of the discussion defeats what is gained by having an internet in the first place. The very point of having the freedom to discuss is a commandment to use it.
take care