Before we get onto the big games at the weekend - which should be bigger still if we tweaked the format - we might pause and reflect on the drama of Clones last weekend.
Extra-time alone in the Ulster decider provided more excitement and intrigue than the other three provincial finals put together.
It was a slow burner for 50 minutes, giving way to a frantic finale in both normal time and extra-time.
Shane McGuigan pulled it out of the bag for Derry. He lit up the Ulster final. It was a sensational performance - scoring, assisting, plucking balls out of the sky in midfield. We saw he cramped up immediately after sliding home the penalty in the shootout. I wonder was that from carrying the team on his shoulders for large parts of the game.
Armagh will have massive regrets. They left the game behind, if I'm being honest. We said at the start of the campaign that Armagh - perhaps more than any other of the contenders - needed championship silverware. They'll be bitterly disappointed they let it slip away.
Like any game that goes the distance, it was a case of small margins. While Armagh did a lot right, Derry's superior game management at key moments made the difference. A couple of examples spring to mind.
One moment that stands out for me as typifying both Derry's doggedness and their smartness was Odhrán Lynch in the final play of the game.
Rory Grugan's free drops short, the ball runs along the endline, Lynch manages to shepherd it and protect it from the Armagh tacklers, knowing that if he picks it, he'll likely be hustled out of play for a '45. And you'd certainly be backing Rian O'Neill to nail that opportunity.
It might be pushing it to describe it as a 'magic moment' given that it involved him crouching over the ball for a prolonged period of time. But it was crucial and it secured Derry a shot in extra-time.
By contrast, you saw a lack of composure from Armagh when they looked in position to win late in extra-time. Two points was a big enough lead in the context of that game, where scores were difficult to come by.
Ethan Rafferty, who was terrific as usual in general play, went long with a couple of kickouts when the priority should have been to maintain possession. Conor Glass picked one of them out of the clouds, another failed to find its target and Derry were given an opportunity to work scores.
Crucially, on one of those kickouts, he had Jarly Óg Burns in space to his left but the option wasn't taken. Such are the fine margins.
You wonder did their lack of experience in seeing out big championship games haunt them in the finish. Derry, after all, had been here at the same last year, eking out an Anglo-Celt victory. When it came down to the clutch moments in a big game, Armagh didn't have it.
An Ulster title might have represented a watershed for the current team. As it is, I don't see them as All-Ireland winners, although they will likely be in the quarter-finals.
We saw how much an Ulster title meant to both teams on the weekend. But ultimately, we can't let that cloud the bigger picture.
It's time now to stop beating around the bush on it. The provincial championships must be jettisoned. Cut adrift from the All-Ireland series. Run them off earlier in the year by all means. But they can't continue to occupy the space they currently do.
We're not simply not getting enough good games to justify them remaining where they are.
There's a sense that we've been waiting for the group stage for weeks and weeks. The great pity is that we have three teams progressing from four team groups. It's taken some of the spice and electricity out of the weekend's games.
We're a couple of days out from the Kerry-Mayo game in Killarney. Mayo - and I suppose this is no great secret - are one of the best supported teams in the country and yet, at the time of writing, there are still tickets available for that game.
I know there are pressing issues around accomodation down there but the lack of the usual championship jeopardy is a major part of it, in my view.
Due to all the built-in lifelines and the complications of the new structure, I don't sense the same buzz around the place for championship. We've said it before but switching to the obvious format of eliminating the bottom two in each group is an easy fix.
Mayo and Tyrone are both unknown quantitites to some degree, given that five to six weeks have elapsed since we last saw them in championship.
You're wondering where Mayo are at. There's a lot of whispers around the place that there are a significant amount of injuries.
If Kevin McStay chooses to rest those carrying knocks - which he may do given there are games against Louth and Cork to consider - then Kerry will be likely to get the job done by about four or five points.
You'd love to see a Mayo reaction from the Roscommon game. See them come out of the traps pretty hard and justify their league standing. If there's a weakness in Kerry, it's in their defence and a top tier team could exploit those.
The chemisty in Kerry's forward line looked electric against Clare. They were slick and ruthless in the manner in which they worked and converted goal chances, albeit Clare afforded far too much space. Mayo's defence will make it a more claustrophobic and uncomfortable afternoon on Saturday. On balance, I just think that Kerry might have too much for them this weekend.
Tyrone are an intriguing proposition. Their attack is especially enticing. Darragh Canavan was in glorious form in the first half against Monaghan and he chimes well with Darren McCurry in the inside line. Which of the supporting cast will come into it - Mattie Donnelly seemed to have recovered his form, particularly against Kerry in the league. Will Cathal McShane start? Does Ruairi Canavan come in?
I don't think the Monaghan game was a true reflection of Tyrone, largely because of the safety net provided. There was a looseness and a casualness to their defending that wouldn't be tolerated in a do-or-die game. Look at Ryan O'Toole's goal - there wasn't a finger laid on any Monaghan player at any stage of the move, and that was the last play of the game.
The Connacht final isn't terribly relevant in assessing Galway, but they showed their credentials by weathering the challenge of an in-form Roscommon in the Hyde.
They got the better of Tyrone in the league, albeit that was in their old fortress in Tuam as opposed to Salthill. Galway might be a bit more battle-hardened from the Connacht semi-final and might just edge it down the stretch by a couple of points.
But if Tyrone get things right, living up to the potential that's there in attack and defence, they have a brilliant opportunity. I certainly wouldn't consider it an upset if the 2021 champs got it done.
Notwithstanding the excessive safety nets, I anticipate a cracker in the west on Saturday evening.
Watch highlights of the weekend's football and hurling championship action on The Saturday Game and The Sunday Game, 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
