Galway's Paul Conroy believes teams that want to play traditional Gaelic football are being forced to play "handball instead of football" by blanket defences.
The Tribesmen face Cavan in Breffni Park on Sunday with a place in Division 1 on the table for the winners.
"In Galway, we've always tried to play football and kick the ball if we can," he told RTÉ Sport. "But a lot of the teams we play in this division set up defensively so a lot of the time it's hard to do that.
"They have a lot of bodies back, which in turn means we have a lot of bodies back.
"A lot of teams still try to kick the ball as much as they can but it's hard to do if you're playing against blanket defences."
"If you can't beat them, you just have to match them. So there's a lot of handball played instead of football.
"A lot of teams now get back behind the ball and you have to try and run through and get a free or break through a tackle and take a point if you get the opportunity.
"There's very little long passing in the game at the minute, with a lot of teams.
"A lot of teams still try to kick the ball as much as they can but it's hard to do if you're playing against blanket defences."
Tyrone have already secured promotion from Division 2 for next season and either Galway or Cavan will join them.
A draw would be good enough for Cavan but Conroy insists Galway believe they can win after coming through trips to Laois, Derry and Armagh unbeaten.
"We've a great chance on Sunday to get up to Division 1," he said. "It's a straight shoot-out between ourselves and Cavan.
"It's good to be involved in the promotion battle. It's a lot better than fighting relegation on the other side of the table.
"It's going to be a tough one; Cavan are in good form. But we've been doing well this year on the road so we're going to come here on Sunday full of confidence and with nothing to fear."
Galway haven't played Division 1 football since 2011 - or won a Connacht title since 2008 - and the midfielder is one of the few players in the panel to taste action in the top tier.
He admits that promotion would present its own challenges but cites Roscommon's successful season as an indication that they could compete with the game's elite.
"There's definitely a step-up," he said. "It's a mixture of a lot of things. "The systems teams have in place, the physicality and strength and conditioning...
"But we'd like to think that we're ready for the step-up and it's great to see Roscommon, who went up last year and are flying in Division 1.
"That gives other teams a lot of confidence."
