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15 Questions: Martin Lemay

Until last season's playoffs, Martin Lemay's Baltimore Ravens were considered one of the most unluckiest teams in the post-season. "But you never heard him complain," says one of his peers. "The guy keeps plugging away, trying to bring success to his beloved Ravens." The Ravens lost to the Titans in the AFC Championship last season, but his team is only getting better with age. "The 2032 season will be the real breakout season for Lemay," says USA Sports Founder Andrew Lewis. "Martin has taken his time watching and learning. His current roster is his best group of talent yet. Don't be surprised to see him make a bigger impact on the standings this season."

No that is not Martin Lemay on the left, well ........ it is A Martin Lemay, but not the Martin Lemay, GM of the Baltimore Ravens. If you do a google.com image search on Mr. Lemay that is the first image you will get. And since our Martin has yet to supply us with his real mugshot, we will display this one.

Martin, along with Jean Lefebvre, joined the league together with English as their second language. Their success in this league is impressive considering the language gap. Just to prove that point, we should hold one draft night in French just to understand what they go through everyday. Would be kinda silly watching everyone mess up the French language. My guess is that draft would take over five hours!

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BALTIMORE RAVENS GM Martin Lemay

1. Well you have got to be one of the hottest GMs in the news lately. You are coming off one of your greatest seasons to date, taking your team to the AFC Championship and winning your fourth GM of the Year award by the SportsWriters Association. Your thoughts on last season ....

It was good news for us, the rebuilding process finally done, that win against Denver in first round gave us confidence. At that time some of our key players were not 100% ready, for 2032-33 we should be stronger. Winning the James Maurer General Manager of the Year award by the USAFL SportsWriters was also great, but i am more obsessed to win the AFC Championship and the Super Bowl.

2. Leading Tennessee 10-0 in the middle of the 3rd quarter of the AFC Championship, did you begin to imagine that this was the year you would reach the Super Bowl? How stunned were you to see the Titans wake up and score two unanswered touchdowns and win the conference championship?

Well it was not a big surprise for us ... They did the same thing in front of KC in round one, and to be honest, we were just happy to be there, we knew that they were strong enough to get back and win that game. Despite everything, if you take a look at the game stats, you will see that our young talented team played well on that day.

3. One great thing about your situation is that your entire starting unit is returning for the 2032 campaign. The Baltimore fans have got to be incredibly excited about their playoff chances this season. Are you concerned about the fact that you will be playing a first place schedule this season, as opposed to last season when you got to play a third place schedule?

No, not at all. Last season schedule wasn't easy, believe me. We played against teams like Washington, Denver, Miami, Tennessee and none of them gave us hard times, on every game we were competitive. On the other hand, we are concerned about our fans and it will be really hard to see our team missing the postseason games next year.

4. You've stuck with the same coaching staff since 2028, employing the West Coast offense combined with a 3-4 defensive scheme. You are obviously very happy with their results. Why do the Ravens employ these schemes? What characteristics about them do you enjoy the most?

The other teams are working hard to build a defense that will crush the running plays, so we want to be more versatile. We like to have all our eligible receivers on the alert and West Coast is the right playbooks to achieve that. The 3-4 scheme will probably change after 2032, as that scheme was introduced during the rebuilding process because we were not having big talents on the line. Things are much different now.

5. QB Ed Williams and OL Walter Williams are your team's Franchise Players, both selected in the first round of the 2026 College Draft. How important is the first round of the draft? How much scouting time to you spend on determining who the Ravens will select in the first round?

Not that much, it is more complicated for the following rounds. A few hours are enough to take decision on who should be signed by our organization. We don't like bad surprises so we go with well known talented players for the draft night.

6. Speaking of Franchise Players, is their another player on the Ravens roster that will be the next FP?

Yeah, and he was another first round selection. Defensive End Killian Mitchell should be our next franchise player. Killian showed a great potential when he join us in 2029 and we are always impressed by his athletics abilities.

7. Let's turn back the clock a few seasons and talk about your first few seasons in the league. What were your initial impressions of the league? How long did it take for you to reach a point where you thought you had a clear understanding of how the league worked?

I was very impressed by the professionalism surrounding this league. The visual aspect, the rules and all the details showed that it was a serious competition. There was no place for a lazy contender and I was ready for that. It wasn't complicated to understand the basic operations. The real challenge was the strategy to understand as a general manager, as it was my first experience with a simulation like the USAFL and I learned by looking at the others GMs.

8. What was the most embarrassing moment for you as a GM in the USAFL?

In 2020, I was had the third spot in the draft and I forgot to cut some players in my depth chart. With only one free slot available, I was only able to draft QB Eric White in the first round. It would have been nice to grab a couple more players with our nice position in the draft order.

9. In our league, there are several different levels of competiveness. Describe your competitive spirit when it comes to the USAFL. What keeps you involved?

It's really amazing to see the level of participation in our weekly activities and I do not spare the efforts to become a strong competitor. I try to keep myself disciplined and for me it is the minimum requirement to be part of that league. I'm not the biggest entertainer on draft night but i like to talk with other GMs, especially for trades.

10. What one feature of the USAFL would you say is by far, the best component to the league?

Wow, that question isn't easy ... but camps results are the climax of that game. It's a special feeling to see a rookie getting +1 on each attribute after his first camp.

11. If you could have any ACTIVE player on your team right now, who would it be?

Without hesitation ....... Green Bay's Half Back Keith Gunn. On paper and on the field Gunn is a monster.

12. Let's say you do make the Super Bowl this season, which team would you like to face?

Probably Green Bay, because Todd is a tough contender and he had so much success in the history of that league. Arizona would be another interesting match up but for another reason ;)

13. How many of your family/friends know that you are a hard-core USAFLer? Do you talk about it with them? Or are you a closet USAFLer?

I'm a closet USAFLer ... except my wife, I don't talk that much about USAFL.

14. Describe your environmental setting on a draft night. Do you draft from work/home? Do you order out for pizza/wings/etc? How much paperwork are you looking through to make your selection, or is all your scouting work done on the computer?

I draft at home and everything starts at 7:30 when my daughter goes to sleep. Scouting work is compiled on the computer. I really enjoy that evening.

15. Which of the following would you rather have in your trophy case? One Lorne Sundby Cup, three James Maurer GM of the Year Awards, six AFC Championship trophies, four Bing Bennett Most Valuable Player Awards, five Tim Arkwright Rookie of the Year Awards, or ten AFC East Division Championship trophies?

One Lorne Sundby Cup !

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