Mike Macdonald is the current head coach of the Seattle Seahawks for one simple reason: Over the past two seasons, his defenses on the Baltimore Ravens were the most dominant in the league and his concepts are currently permeating throughout the league with other defensive coordinator hires such as Anthony Weaver (Dolphins) and Zach Orr (Ravens). But one team that had a lot fewer problems with Macdonald’s defense than most was the Rams, as Los Angeles nearly upset the Ravens in Baltimore with a 37-31 overtime loss last season.

That didn’t stop Sean McVay from praising Macdonald’s defense in an interview with The Athletic’s Robert Mays last week, saying “I got a ton of respect for (Macdonald) and there was a clear cut identity with the Ravens and an intent with what they wanted to execute…they rushed ‘four as one’ as well as anybody…he understands pressures and situations…they did a great job of coverages where I didn’t know what the hell I was going against…You felt like you were playing against 13 players (on the Ravens defense) sometimes.”

In short, McVay thinks the Ravens had a really good defense last year.

Now Macdonald’s coaching in the same division, trying to rebuild a Seahawks defense that has been near the bottom of the league in rush defense, sacks, third downs, you name it over the last few years under Pete Carroll. When asked about McVay’s comments on Thursday, Seattle’s new head coach was quick to joke back that he didn’t believe a word of it.

“Don’t buy the smoke, man. That’s a trap. We’ve got a lot of respect for all the coaches in our division… Definitely have our hands full, but we’re up for the challenge.”

The Seahawks and Rams play each other in Week 9 and the Week 18 finale. The showdowns should be even better than the playful banter.