Former Rams Coach Mike Martz: “Ridiculous” To put T.O. in Hall of Fame Over Bruce, Holt

In this year’s Hall of Fame voting, former St. Louis Rams receivers Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, and former receiver Terrell Owens who is most known for his time in San Fransisco, Dallas, and Philadelphia, were all Pro Football Hall of Fame semi-finalists.

After semi-finalist voting was complete, only Owens remained, knocking out both Holt and Bruce. We will know shortly if Owens becomes a first ballot Hall of Famer.

Asked by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch if he’s surprised that Owens is a Hall of Fame finalist while former Rams receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt are not, Martz said,

"“Surprised’ isn’t the word. You can’t print how I felt when T.O. leapfrogged those two. That’s just plain out-and-out ridiculous. Had they promoted themselves, which was contrary to everything we were about, they’d probably get in without an issue. Had they pulled a T.O. they’d probably get in without an issue. That’s just not who we were. If they big-timed it and did all that dumb stuff, they’d probably get in earlier. I think they’ll eventually get in. I don’t think that’s an issue, but it’s tragic that people think of them like that. If Marvin Harrison gets in, how could they not get in?”"

The former Rams head coach and offensive coordinator continued by saying,

"“You kinda start with (Super Bowl touchdowns). Look at their production. More importantly, look at their yards per catch. And then look at it consistently over a long period of time. It’ll compare to anybody. In some cases, nobody comes close. I mean nobody’s even come close to what Torry did.. People say, ‘well it was the system. It wasn’t the system. The system worked against him because we had other receivers, plus the running back, and the tight end that were catching passes. So it wasn’t like (Bruce and Holt) were targeted more than anybody else. We targeted everybody. We spread it around. They were able to get these numbers, in spite of not being targeted as much as so many other receivers were in the league. And then both of them in big games just showed up big. They doubled Isaac all the time. They went 2-on-1 on Isaac all the time. And he still had the numbers.”"

Bruce and Holt, as Martz said, deserve to get in. Both, statistically speaking, are two of the greatest receivers to play the game. Bruce ended his career second on the NFL’s all-time list in reception yards with 15,208 and fifth in receptions with 1,204. He still ranks fourth and ninth in those categories. Bruce’s 1,781 yards in a single season ranks fifth all time, but when he retired, he was only behind Jerry Rice.

Holt on the other hand, had six consecutive seasons of 1,300-plus receiving yards from 2000 through 2005 is a league record.  He also holds the NFL record for most receiving yards in a decade, posting 12,594 from 2000 to 2009.

Statistically, Owens has a strong case to get in ahead of Bruce and Holt as he had more receiving yards, and touchdowns. As Andy Reid recently told Philly.com,

"“There was that one off-the-field issue with him, but everything else, he was a pleasure to coach. The son of a gun would do anything you asked him to do and he’d do it a hundred miles an hour, which not every player will do. The sad part of it is he and Donovan had a special chemistry. I remember seeing it a couple of years before that at the Pro Bowl. They just had something there. Something special. You wish you could’ve had both of them together for a while longer. It would’ve been something else. Both of them would’ve been slam-dunk Hall of Famers. There are very few guys that I’ve been around that give you the confidence that they’re unstoppable. I mean, that nobody on the field can stop them. Sterling Sharpe was one of those guys. Jerry Rice was one of those guys. And T.O. was one of those guys.’’"

The one issue with Owens throughout his career was the fact that he was such a cancer in every locker room that he played in. If he didnt get the ball enough, he would let somebody know about it. While that stuff didnt happen on the field, it is part of his legacy, however, the voters most likely won’t take that into account. Looking at the numbers, Owens is a Hall of Famer.

Whether he deserves to get in over Bruce or Holt is all a matter of opinion. You could make the case that he deserves to get in over Holt, however, he and Bruce have very comparable numbers.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016 will be announced during “NFL Honors,” a two-hour primetime awards special to air nationally on the eve of the Super Bowl from 9-11 p.m. on CBS. At that point we will see if Harrison or Owens get in. Unfortunately for the Greatest Show on Turf crew, they will have to wait until 2017.