It's going to be a strange game for Baltimore Ravens defensive back Earl Thomas as he returns to CenturyLink Field to play the only other team he's ever played for. Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, meanwhile, is looking forward to this encounter.

He was asked ahead of their reunion about his thoughts on facing one of his former key defenders. He said that he's looking forward to playing his former player as it provides a different dimension to games.

Per NFL.com's Kevin Patra:

“When we know guys, we like playing against them. You've got relationships and it's fun to see them out there and it's fun to go against them. There's nothing we like more than beating the guys that we love.”

It's always interesting to hear a head coach talk about beating one of the players who helped him win his first Super Bowl. However, he did say that he loves Thomas and his other former players, and their years of dominance as one of the team's best defenses of all time will always stick with them.

Thomas was a part of Seattle's legendary Legion of Boom defense that terrified a lot of teams during the early 2010's. While the 30-year-old has moved on from Seattle, he knows that he's a part of the Seattle football story for good.

“We left our mark,” Thomas said, via the Ravens' official site. “That’s all you want to do. When you set out to play this sport, you want to leave your mark. Everybody’s going to know what we did, and who we were.”

It will be interesting to see how Thomas and Carroll interact during and after the game.