Dessie Dolan believes Tyrone have become too predictable and lack "natural" forwards compared to other All-Ireland contenders.
Following last year's All-Ireland final defeat to Dublin, Tyrone experimented with a more attacking approach in the league, enjoying some success, notably against Dublin in Croke Park.
However, the jolt of the defeat to Donegal in the Ulster championship forced a re-think and they reverted to type, falling back on their reliable gameplan through the qualifiers.
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While this has enabled Tyrone to navigate the choppy waters of the back door and the Super 8s, Dolan believes it doesn't allow their forwards to flourish in the biggest games.
"They are unbelievably predictable in the way they play," Dolan said on the RTÉ GAA podcast.
"They've tried to be expansive and it hasn't worked. It failed miserably. And Mickey Harte was probably under pressure to do it from the players. He reverted to type with Colm Cavanagh dropping back as sweeper.
"Teams have copped onto it a certain amount. Cork were very good at exposing them and only for them two quick goals after half-time, Tyrone could have been in bother.
"They were so predictable. Teams are more patient. They obviously say 'Colm Cavanagh is in there, we'll have to keep it away from him'.
"What you do is you work at angles. Dublin have been doing it for years. They've beaten the sweeper system and teams around the country have beaten it with their patience and build-up play. Not kicking it down on top of the sweeper, working it up the wings and running at angles."
According to Dolan, the problems go deeper as he doesn't believe that Tyrone are armed the same firepower in attack that they boasted back in the glory days of the noughties.
"When they were winning the All-Irelands, they had Peter Canavan, Stephen O'Neill, Eoin Mulligan, Sean Cavanagh. brilliant attacking footballers, very natural players.
"I feel the Tyrone forwards are a little manufactured. They're strong, they're physical, they like getting the ball in long. Cathal McShane is an excellent footballer but he's not the most naturally gifted forward that you've ever seen.
"Mattie (Donnelly) is a very strong guy but I don't think he's a natural corner forward. Richie Donnelly is similar. I do like Conor McAliskey, I think he can offer something. Darren McCurry can kick a point.
"But when Tyrone were at their best, they had real natural forwards and I think the system they play doesn't allow the corner forwards to get the ball they need to do damage."
As for their opponents on Sunday, Kerry are back in their natural habitat of the All-Ireland semi-final after last year's wobble in the Super 8s.
Under former minor manager Peter Keane, the team is now heavily stacked with personnel from that unprecedented run of underage success since 2014.
While their attack, including star graduates David Clifford and Sean O'Shea, is lauded, their occasionally porous defence (exposed at times by Cork) remains a source of concern.
However, also speaking on the podcast, four-time All-Ireland winner Cooper says he doesn't expect to deviate from their traditional approach.
"I don't think Kerry have three or four ways to play, they are pretty traditional, I think. They will play with Séanie O’Shea, Stephen O’Brien, Paul Geaney and David Clifford up high and they might pull out two other guys to share the workload out around the middle of the field, but I don’t see them changing dramatically.
"The concern I would have for Kerry after being in Navan last Saturday night is how exposed their full-back line was. I looked three or four times in each half and there was 100 yards of space between Jason Foley, Tadhg Morely and the rest of their defensive unit and that was very worrying from my point of view.
"If you give Cathal McShane, Mattie Donnelly, Peter Harte that kind of space they will punish you. If Kerry are looking at their defensive unit, I would expect them to sit in a little more than they have, but I don't expect to see them changing massively from the traditional system.
"It'll be a clash of styles, certainly. Tyrone have reverted to what they know best. Has their game evolved?
"McShane on the top of the square has given them a new dimension and if Tyrone put Mattie Donnelly in there, pounding ball in on top of them, will Kerry be able cope with it? That’s a big question mark. On the other side, if Clifford, Geaney and Stephen O’Brien can hit form, they’ll pose major difficulty for Tyrone."
Follow Kerry v Tyrone (Sunday, 3.30pm) via our live blogs on RTÉ.ie and the News Now app, watch live on RTÉ2 or listen to radio commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.
