I don't doubt that Cosell is telling the truth. There are a lot of coaches and GMs in the league who just don't get it, guys that will likely be out of a job sometime in the next few years. That statement didn't really offend me much.
Saying "we all have a lot of respect for Bill Polian" was definitely pushing it though. Polian is a lot like Cosell actually, keen on X's and O's but clueless about talent evaluation. You would think Polian would have some collateral after all those wins with Indy, yet Manning gets hurt, the franchise tanks for Luck, and the powers that be jump on the chance to dump Polian. Jim Irsay may not be the brightest dude, but even he knew that Polian's talent evaluation issues were eroding the franchise.
As far as Wilson being undervalued, I blame Bevell for constructing an offense that is so easy to game plan and being so slow to adjust when DC's had his number. A lot of plays late in the season were DOA because defenses attacked knowing that Bevell would never counter, and the result is that it made Wilson look bad.
I think there is also some old-school bias too. Any time a player represents a threat to previously established paradigms of what a top player should be, that player is going to be hated by inflexible old school minds who just assume his success is a mirage. Notice that Cosell referenced guys who coached OFFENSES for 25+ years? First off, the 25+ years thing is a dead give-away that they shared his old school biases. Second, he talked to old-school offensive guys. I bet if he talked to DCs in the NFC who've had to defend Wilson the last 2 years, he'd get a very different set of answers. So I do think there is obviously some confirmation bias going on here (Cosell has downplayed Wilson from day one).
I am kind of amazed though how anyone can watch the amazing plays Wilson pulls off, turning sure sacks into 50 yard bombs, and thinks "slightly above average QB." I'm pretty sure Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman, and Trent Dilfer weren't annoying defenses with clutch and/or insane playmaking anywhere near as much as Wilson already has.
I really hope Wilson and the team hear about this and use it as bulletin board material in 2014. And 2015... and 2016...