NFL News and Rumors 2016: Former Rams Coach Criticizes Terrell Owens' Selection as Hall of Fame Finalist
Choosing the finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame usually goes down with no objections and complaints.
However, the addition of Terrell Owens, along with Marvin Harrison, as two of the wide receivers in the modern era to that list does not sit well with former St.Louis Rams head coach Mike Martz. His criticism of Owens' inclusion is actually born out of the fact that two other former players in Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce weren't included.
According to Martz in an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, putting Owens on the shortlist is "ridiculous." He added that both Holt and Bruce were more deserving than Owens because aside from having Hall of Fame numbers, they also played the game and exited with a clean slate. "You can't print how I felt when T.O. leapfrogged those two, that's just plain out-and-out ridiculous," he said.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
But his hatred for this year's list isn't just toward Owens. He also took exception to the fact that Marvin Harrison, an Indianapolis Colts great, was being considered first and not Holt or Bruce. "If they big-timed it and did all that dumb stuff, they'd probably get in earlier," Martz said referring to Holt and Bruce.
No one will argue that Owens was one of the most controversial and polarizing players in football history. However, that alone won't dishonor him and deprive him of his right to be a Hall of Famer. The kind of numbers he put up is almost insurmountable from the modern receiver's standpoint. He is second in history for receiving yards, sixth in receptions and third in receiving touchdowns. On top of that, he is way ahead of both Holt and Bruce in all those mentioned categories.
Perhaps the only valid argument in Holt and Bruce's favor is the fact that they won a Super Bowl and Owens never had one. But in counting and considering members of the Hall of Fame, it has been proven time and time again that individual performances matter the most. In this case, Owens had an amazing 122 receiving yards in the only Super Bowl he played in his career.
