That is what's being discussed here, this is the failure mode in question. So yes, those experienced in optical flow and embedded control systems _would_ have handled this specific failure better.
But none of us are saying any hobbyist could have trivially sent it to Mars.
It should be obvious what we are specifically addressing: that this kind of error is not the sort that should happen in a properly thought out, bog standard real time system.
> JPL tends toward having generalists
And that's fine too, plus dumb mistakes always happen.
So it shouldn't be much surprise when the "armchair quarterback" responses show up, and rightly point out the issues. It would be more crazy not to be incredulous.