Mike Martz: Terrell Owens shouldn’t be a Hall of Fame finalist before Issac Bruce and Torry Holt

When the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2016 is announced this weekend, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt won’t hear their names called. In their second year of eligibility, the former St. Louis Rams receiving greats are not finalists.

Terrell Owens, another former receiving great, does have a chance to be named to the hall later this week. He snagged a finalist spot in only his first year of eligibility.

And that irks former Rams coach Mike Martz.

“You can’t print how I felt when T.O. leapfrogged those two,” Martz told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “That’s just plain out-and-out ridiculous.”

Martz was the Rams’ offensive coordinator in 1999, the year they won Super Bowl XXXIV over the Tennessee Titans. Bruce and Holt each caught a touchdown pass in that game. Martz went on to serve as the team’s head coach from 2000 to 2005.

Bruce played 16 years (14 with the Rams and two with San Francisco). He finished with 15,208 yards (fourth in league history), 1,024 receptions (ninth), 91 touchdowns (12th) and an average of 14.9 yards per reception (15th).

Holt set a league record with six consecutive seasons of 1,300-plus receiving yards. His 11,864 receiving yards in his first nine seasons is also a record. Two years later, though, his career was over because of knee issues. Still, his 13,383 yards ranks 14th all time and his 14.5 yards per reception is tied for 18th.

“Look at their production,” Martz said. “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.”

Of course, Owens is no slouch either -- in fact, most of his career numbers are better than those of Bruce and Holt. Owens played 15 seasons and finished with 15,934 yards (second all-time), 153 touchdown catches (third), 1,078 receptions (sixth) and 14.8 yards per reception (tied for 16th).

But Martz said he feels that there’s another reason the flamboyant and high-profile Owens jumped over Bruce and Holt to get a Hall of Fame nod.

“Had they promoted themselves, which was contrary to everything we were about, they’d probably get in without an issue,” Martz said. “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.”