Talking about the other team is a fine line. On the one hand by acknowledging that they exist, you acknowledge that they are a threat and you are aware of them. By not recognizing that they are in the room, you risk not respecting what they might be doing to to succeed in the same space as you. As I said, a fine line.
A healthy respect is one thing but the one thing you should never do is give the competition an advantage of any sort. Either in the press, in person or otherwise. It’s called bulletin board material. Some teams thrive on that. Some teams need it. Some ignore it and others use it as examples that they are the one’s to beat.
Take what a senior executive from one of the world’s largest computer company’s said about one of the most notable and recognizable companies in the world and a direct competitor the other day:
“They’re great if you’ve got a lot of money and live on an island. It’s not so great if you have to exist in a diverse, open, connected enterprise; simple things become quite complex,” Their global head of marketing for large enterprises and public organizations, said to CIO Australia.
“Their product with a keyboard, a mouse and a case [means] you’ll be at $1,500 or $1,600; that’s double of what you’re paying. That’s not feasible.”
Even in business. Think it, but don’t say it to everyone “outside” the firewall. It’s not like they needed ammo but it’s like saying, “Yea Kobe has 5 rings but he still can’t hit the 11 footer off the backboard…”
Direct Marketing Observations 
It seems sarcasm as become the “cool” way to gossip about and or dis the competition. A fine line to be sure. In some instances a door opens that can never be shut. Sometimes it is the flippant or satirical comments made by others that bring to light a business or product that was sitting quietly in the shadows, just doing their thing. Since when do people who “want” something and can afford it (or not) think about feasibility?
I say send him a thank you card!
Just my two cents.