For the first time since 2008-09, Dublin have lost three successive competitive games across league and championship, but marksman-in-chief Dean Rock insists there's no need to panic yet.
The seven-point loss in Tralee, after an admittedly spirited second half effort, was, excluding O'Byrne Cup games, Dublin's third loss in a row, coming on the heels of their surprisingly emphatic defeat at home to Armagh on the opening weekend of the league and their landmark championship loss to Mayo in last year's All-Ireland semi-final.
Combined with their questionable form en-route to last year's semi-final and the exodus of a number of all-time great players, through retirement and otherwise, the run has convinced many that the Dublin empire is in ruins.
Others, however, are inclined to see it as a blip and argue that the Dubs will be restored to health once the likes of Con O'Callaghan, Eoin Murchan and Cormac Costello return to the fold.
"I think there's always a decent amount of noise out there around the Dublin team, whether it's good, bad or indifferent. I think that just comes with the territory of being a Dublin footballer," Rock told RTÉ Sport at an AIG media event to mark the launch of Dublin's season.
"It probably hasn't been as bad as two defeats probably have looked. Obviously we'd analyse and assess the games. Break it down and we just had two poor second quarters in both of those games.
"That was probably the big learning for us. The second halves of those games we played a little bit better and won both those halves. In particular it was the second quarters that let us down, both against Armagh and Kerry.
"So that's just something that we have to try and address. Now looking forward to Mayo this weekend and hoping to right a few wrongs there."
Dublin shipped 1-09 without reply against Kerry in the second quarter in Tralee, the hosts making the most of an enormous wind to build up an ultimately unassailable lead. The blizzard of scores occurred immediately after Rock had a goal disallowed, referee Conor Lane being alerted to a foul off-the-ball in the build-up, which resulted in Niall Scully being misidentified as the culprit and shown a black card as a result.
Rock, whose shot for a point bizarrely wound up in the net after it clipped off a combination of post and crossbar, said the outcome was a jolt for the Dubs and admitted the decision left him bemused. However, he's quick to steer the conversation away from refereeing.
"Yeah, look, at the time we were a bit bemused by it. At the end of the day, we should have responded better to it. We shouldn't have conceded 1-09 in a row afterwards.
"A lot of that falls onto the players and a bit of accountability there. But that's the great thing about learning. A lot of the new guys that played that day, massive learning for them.
"Look, that's the nature of the league. It'd be great if you could back in time and you'd do things differently. We went out and won the second half but it wasn't enough."
Dessie Farrell, now in his third year as manager but who one still feels inclined to label as 'new', spoke of the team undergoing a period of transition in the wake of the Armagh defeat.
Immediately after the Mayo defeat in August, Farrell stressed the need for "patience" among a Dublin supporter base accustomed to constant success.
Rock does acknowledge that some measure of "transition" taking place and says the new generation need to be given time to adjust to the leap from U20 to senior.
"There's been a massive influx of new players on the panel this year. There's 14 new players in the panel so trying to integrate them guys into the team and even just getting to know them, from my perspective getting to know new guys on the panel, you were so comfortable with the lads who were there.
"Obviously there's so many lads who've gone over the last number of years, your best friends and guys you could easily communicate with. So it's totally different trying to get to know new guys.
"There is a transition there, absolutely but we certainly still want to be very, very competitive in this year's championship and the remainder of the league.
They're improving week on week and there certainly are a lot of talented players there
"Just from training and a couple of the games, there is massive talent there. The big thing is that these guys have to be given time. When I started or James McCarthy or Con O'Callaghan, it took us time to get acclimatised to inter-county football and the demands of training day in and day out.
"Even from a tactical perspective getting used to game plans. It's probably not that in-depth at club level or U20 level. So there's a huge amount of learning for these guys to have and to do.
"They're improving week on week and there certainly are a lot of talented players there. I've seen it over the last couple of weeks, but they probably just need a little bit more time and hopefully we'll see the best for them over the next couple of weeks in the league and obviously in the summer as well."
With some of the more senior names, most notably O'Callaghan and James McCarthy, to come back, Rock is inclined to stress the positives brought about by their enforced absence.
"(There's) a huge amount of players to come back into the team and that's one massive positive. Then the other positive is that the newer guys are getting a lot of exposure and minutes that they might not have done if them guys were available.
"That's only going to be positive for the squad going forward that these lads have got minutes under their belt. They'll get a lot of confidence from that, just even get used to playing in Croke Park or going down to difficult venues like Tralee. It's all part of the experience moulding and shaping some future players for Dublin."
As to the broader questions around Dublin's decline, the dip had first become evident early in last year's championship, when they only mustered single-digit victories over Wexford, Meath and Kildare after sluggish performances in Leinster.
After a decade of cricket-score pummelings, it boosted the morale of several beaten down counties in the eastern province.
While Farrell admitted in the immediate aftermath that Dublin's form had been patchy throughout 2021, Rock insisted that there was no sense of alarm at any point.
"I wouldn't have said so. I would have said the standard was getting a little bit higher and teams were getting more competitive. That's the nature of the sport, every team is improving. It's quite clear to see that it has been a very competitive league and it will be a very competitive championship this year.
"For us, there was no case for alarm last season. We went out and probably played some of our best football of the year in the first half against Mayo last season. We were 10-4 up.
"Mayo upped the intensity and we just couldn't get the scores we needed and they deservedly ran out as winners.
"There was no case for alarm before the Mayo game and as I said, in the first half, we were performing very well. It was just how we finished out the game that was disappointing."
Dessie tries to implement his own style
And as for Farrell, he has come under scrutiny for presiding over a decline in Dublin's fortunes after the glorious riches of the Jim Gavin era.
Has the new manager stressed continuity since 2020 or has he sought to enact change?
"There's obviously been a lot of continuity. But obviously, Dessie has implemented his own thoughts and philosophies on the game as well.
"He's collaborated with players and his own coaching staff in that regard. That's been the good thing for the players, that there has been that evolution. There has been that bit of change or want for change, which is quite refreshing for players. Certainly, Dessie tries to implement his own style.
"That's why we go to training, to work on those aspects of our game. Hopefully, over the next couple of weeks, they'll be seen in our performances.
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