Many SOPs are written for the exceptional circumstance;
SOPs have to be written for the normal, we must train for the normal; brief for the abnormal.
Is there not a slight contradiction there? SOP's can be written for the norm, and can also be written for the simple non-normal and some expected emergencies. These are trained and checked ad infinitum, so help me god. The accidents happen when events happen outside these scenarios and pilots are left grasping at straws in the dark.
It could be that you can become 'over-SOP'd' & 'under-airmanshiped & under-trained & under-educated' in your a/c.
IMHO pilots should be trained in all the aspects of how their a/c was designed and what it can do, and its systems. There will be basic simple SOP's for the basic simple manoeuvres. Outside those the crews should have full confidence and discretion to use whatever weapons the a/c & its systems offer them at their disposable to achieve the task in hand. Not all G/A's are the same. The crew should be able to act as pilots and not trained monkeys where there is a 1 size fits all SOP. That is what I find too much in todays TR courses. Too many SOP's not enough education. Too much who, what & when and not enough how & why and other options.