The reason why people cram for the ATPLs is because you only have so many sitting and time frame to complete the exams, its nearly impossible to get a good understanding of all the subject material. Plus the way the school drags the students through the ATPL section of training in 6 months what else is one to do but cram. Or the CAA could cut out all the crap thats irrelevant and increase areas like principles of flight and performance.
With regards to loss of control, during my CPL training we constantly reviewed stalls and steep turns. In an airlines average 6 monthly check do they cover stalls, slow flight, spin/dive recovery??
