We're midway through the league at this point and managers weren't shy of unloading in front of microphones last weekend.
Perhaps it's a sign of pressure building for some, with relegation threats looming and the prospect of dropping out of Sam Maguire altogether in one case.
They may be still debating the relevance of the top leagues in hurling, but it's certainly not the case in football, where managerial outbursts make it clear - if it wasn't already - that this is serious business.
First up, we had Davy Burke, probably frustrated by the heavy loss in the capital, venting about not getting access to his players for training. Between Sigerson and club campaigns, he hadn't had the full complement available to him for any of their 65 training sessions.
The media weren't too sympathetic to his plight, it's fair to say, their eyes instantly drawn to the number '65'. It's a startling enough number, though I'd reckon it's being taken out of context really. I suspect it's including absolutely everything - gym sessions, meetings, etc.
What seemed more bizarre was his demand that they had to meet up Sunday morning, but that might be down to annoyance with the display, and the manner in which the Dubs cut them open.
Glenn Ryan is one manager clearly feeling the pressure bearing down on him, and he was very unwise to get in a tangle with a local journalist.
The audio of the exchange has been widely shared, yet the original sin here was the county board chairman saying what he said at the county board meeting when he should have kept his counsel. That kind of loose talk leads to awkward set-pieces like last Sunday.
Up in Omagh, meanwhile, Pádraic Joyce was fairly blunt in calling out Kieran Molloy for a lack of urgency and directness, even saying they'd confronted him at half-time and then whipped him off having seen no improvement five minutes into the second half.
And Kieran McGeeney, who has less to worry about this spring, although has shipped his fair share of flak in the past, was more inclined to bemoan the incessant negativity around Gaelic football coverage, something I've often noted in the past.
The Joyce one is curious, because he has form in calling out players in front of the media - even aside from Molloy, he commented on Rob Finnerty and Matthew Tierney missing easy frees in the second half. That's just his style and maybe he feels it'll get a reaction.
Most managers prefer to leave their detailed criticism to the weekly video sessions, where it can arrive in torrents. I was a bit of a punchbag in them, mostly because I was inclined to let the whole lot wash over me anyway.
Donie Buckley used to go to town on me (irrespective of how brilliant I was - just kidding), largely because he knew I could take it and it would just go over my head.
The full game would be sent to us on an app - we used to use Huddle, I'm not sure if they still do - where it would be coded/marked for every play you made in the match.
The management would cut that into a highlights package - or it really should be called a lowlights package - for a half-hour long review session.
"That's not very good... you shouldn't be there... why are you standing there, doing nothing?"
As I said, these questions were put to me more than most.
I was never much of a fiend for the video analysis anyway. I hated it, in truth. Some lads were animals for it. Ger Caffekery, in particular, was the analyst king. He could nearly have written the review sessions themselves.
But then Ger Caff was an engineer by trade, so his engineering brain would click into gear and be able to tease out the mechanics and patterns of the game.
Whereas I was more of a free spirit - let's just go play football. I found if I became preoccupied with mistakes from previous matches, I would fall into a negative headspace. So, it was better just to park it and move on.
Relegation four-pointer in the Hyde
Dublin definitely seem to have parked their early season gremlins. Con O'Callaghan was back to his frightening best inside. The Cuala man is hard to contain when he's in that form and I had some nightmares looking at him last Saturday night (although my therapy from 2019 was that we got him back in 2021).
If David Clifford didn't exist, Paudie Clifford would have to be talked about as one of the best footballers Kerry ever had. He was absolutely electric last Saturday night.
The two best teams in the country may be colliding this weekend, but the biggest game in Division 1 in Round 4 is likely to be in the Hyde, where the Rossies and Monaghan are embroiled in what looks like a relegation four-pointer.
Both sides have been depleted until now.
We know Davy's gripes - as noted above - but Monaghan have been wrecked by absentees, Rory Beggan is off pursuing the NFL dream, All-Star Conor McCarthy is unavailable and Conor McManus hasn't been involved. They just look light in their absence, and after the shock win over Dublin, they've conceded huge scores in the last two games.
I'd be inclined to back Roscommon, although they have problems themselves. There is talk that that Ben O'Carroll could be back available this weekend. That's surprising to me given the manner he went down in the Sigerson final warm-up but Davy says he's close to a return, alongside Ultan Harney, Tadhg O'Rourke and Ronan Daly.
Division 2 - Kildare in dire shape but all hope not gone for Cork
Division 2, as we know, is where the league takes on a grim urgency, as teams jockey frantically for position to avoid the Tailteann trapdoor - never mind the third tier.
That's none of Armagh or Donegal's concern - nor Meath's, who are exempt from that rat-race themselves - both of whom have their eyes firmly fixed on promotion.
Their collision this weekend in the Athletic Grounds feels like a Division 1 clash in all but name. We can probably anticipate some shadow-boxing this weekend ahead of a probable re-match in the league final - where there'll be yet more shadow-boxing.
Jim McGuinness' status as a messiah has probably only heightened in the months since his return but this is his biggest test to date. Promotion is certainly a key part of his check-list but privately, I suspect the challenge of Derry in the Ulster championship is dominating his thoughts.
If pushed, I'd give the nod to Armagh, but realistically it's a coin-flip.
If Kildare lose in Navan, it's curtains for them. Watching them last Sunday, it was tempting to call it curtains already.
At the moment, we can fairly say they're good at nothing. They lacked effort. Defensively, they were appalling. Offensively, there was no link-up play or fluency. They were ponderous.
They're easy to score against, easy to defend against (outside of that, they're a handful I suppose).
Watching them, it's hard to fathom what they could be working on in training. There's no evidence of anything being done.
Cork have been grouped in with Kildare as another of the crisis counties in Division 2, though I'd still hold out some hope for a revival there. They haven't gone down as abjectly as the Lilywhites.
Of course, they were well beaten by Donegal on the opening weekend, but even then there was a couple of goal chances spurned which could have made it a different game.
John Cleary acknowledged they'd backed themselves into a corner with the loss at home to Cavan, but it's worth acknowledging the trajectory of Raymond Galligan's side, who are hugely well drilled and coherent and have an excellent forward up top in Paddy Lynch. They're the likeliest team to upset the Armagh-Donegal duopoly at the top of the division.
I'll probably regret it but I'd tentatively give the nod to Cork to get their first win away to Fermanagh in Brewster Park this weekend.
Watch Tyrone v Mayo in the Allianz Football League on Saturday from 4.45pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to updates on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch highlights on Allianz League Sunday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 9.30pm, follow a live blog every Sunday afternoon on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live updates on Sunday Sport
