Yes, Ross is culpable. He was the one who gave Blonsky the initial serum before the incident at Culver University. In fact, he had suggested that the other man take it. Blonsky took it even further and had himself injected with Banner's blood. And in the one-shot story, "The Consultant", Ross and the WSC wanted to include Blonsky on Fury's new Avengers team. They went as far as to blame Bruce for the destruction of Harlem, so that Blonsky would be considered.
But not anything that happened afterwards. He didn't order Blonsky to mutate himself with Bruce's blood.
And what "growth" is that? The Marvel Studios formulaic pattern of 1 dimensional heroes and villains, stories bereft of anything beyond quips and explosions? That's not "growth". The definition of the word "growth" can't be stretched or distorted enough to make that "growth". The simple fact is this: if every single Marvel Studios film had been original characters in a completely new universe, it wouldn't have made it to 14 films. The only reason people cut these cookie cutter films any slack is because they feature characters they like and want to see on the screen. And that includes me. It's the only reason I rated Doctor Strange as high as a "C", because I love the character. It was the same film I've seen 13 times before, just with Inception FX thrown in to distract us from that fact. Had it been Doctor Mojo of the Actionverse, I would've shitcanned it as would everyone else.
Embracing the wondrous, costumes, aliens, magic, not going for that "grounded" sell-out approach. Aw cripes, another pretentious snob... Says you and the rest of the "Gritty Urban Crime Drama" crowd. Doubtful. People aren't as ashamed of the wondrous as they used to be. He's just been repeating the same one story over and over for 16 years. He couldn't make Deathstrike a cyborg because that was too wondrous for him.
And? I doubt either would have been interested in doing a movie like Doctor Strange anyway. So was it really necessary to resurrect an MCU thread two months later to make a dig at two directors who've never worked in the MCU? Hell, one of them hasn't even worked on a movie based on Marvel Comics at all.
I also said that. In fact, I had stated that Blonsky himself took it further by infusing himself with Bruce's blood. But Abomination would not have been possible if Ross had not suggested that Blonsky take the initial serum. Even Bruce had pointed out to Ross that they had played roles in the creation of Abomination (and perhaps even the Hulk). I feel that either approach would do in regard to a comic book movie. It all depends upon the story and/or the screenwriters and director.