Dublin's biggest stars are facing a different type of challenge in 2022 but supporters in the county understand that the team is not where it was a few years ago.
That's according to three-time All-Ireland winner with the Blues Alan Brogan, who was speaking at the Sport Ireland Campus 'Here We Go' launch.
The Dubs claimed their eighth All-Ireland in 10 years in December 2020, but they've been on a downward trajectory since then.
They relinquished their grip on Sam Maguire last August as Mayo punished their inability to finish off their All-Ireland semi-final meeting, despite leading it by five points with just over 10 minutes on the clock.
The Metropolitans followed that up with a first relegation in the National League since Church & General was the name of the sponsor back in 1995.
With a trip to Chadwicks Wexford Park to come on Saturday evening, Dublin are beginning the defence of the only title they have left - pre-season O'Byrne Cup aside - and Brogan says that expectations in the capital are realistic.
"Like any year, the Dublin manager wants to win the All-Ireland, and that's what Dessie's [Farrell] expectation would be," Brogan said.
"Playing Kerry is the big thing. They haven't played them in a while. Kerry have had a couple of defeats in the last few years where they would have expected to win.
"For me Kerry are the favourites this year coming off the back of their National League form. I hope we'll see Kerry against Dublin at some stage and and whoever wins that game could go on to win the All-Ireland.
"There'll be no panic yet. Form hasn't been great in the National League but you would expect this team, even with the problems they've had, to reach an All-Ireland semi-final.
"The personnel is there and if they get the key guys fit, and they stay fit, you'd expect them to be at the business end for sure.
"I don't think there's any real pressure inside the county on Dessie Farrell and his management team at the moment. There's an acceptance that there's been an exceptional group of players... Between the change of management and some of the older guys moving away, they've lost great footballers and leaders there.
"He will be afforded a year or two where not winning the All-Ireland will be accepted if he's moving the team along and some young guys are making a breakthrough at that senior inter-county level."
Dublin's Allianz League campaign saw them lose five of their seven games, including a first defeat to Kildare since the 2000 Leinster SFC final replay.
They were beaten by seven points by All-Ireland favourites Kerry in Tralee while they conceded 11 goals in the course of their fixures.
Asked why his former team had endured such a poor spring, Brogan added: "There's more opportunity now to kick pass and move the ball a bit quicker.
"To me Dublin looked, in the league, as if they were playing a similar style to what they played three or four years ago. Very patient build up because teams had a lot of men behind the ball.
"Maybe they were missing a bit of a ball winner in the full-forward line. Having Con [O'Callaghan] back adds that bit of ball-winning ability that they can have a bit more confidence to kick it in a bit more.
"We've seen that when Dublin move the ball quickly they're really dangerous. In the league it looked like teams had figured out their patient hand passing style that we've become accustomed to seeing them play over the last number of years.
"It's difficult to make wholesale changes in the league because games are coming so fast but the last number of weeks will have been quiet. I'm sure they played some challenge matches.
"I haven't heard much coming out of the camp but I expect that the game plan will have slightly evolved from when we saw them over the course of the National League."
While players with multiple Celtic Crosses still remain in Dublin's panel ahead of Saturday's Leinster bow against Wexford, there can be little doubt that manager Dessie Farrell is dealing with a far less experienced squad than the one involved in the the 2020 All-Ireland triumph over Mayo.
Paddy Andrews, Michael Darragh Macauley and Paul Mannion all retired or left the panel before the start of last year's championship, while Cian O'Sullivan, Kevin McManamon and Philly McMahon have all moved on since.
That's added to the retirement - whether official or not - of influential goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton.
It means that players like Ciarán Kilkenny, Brian Fenton - who suffered his first championship loss in that defeat to Mayo last year - and this year's captain James McCarthy are the players tasked with slowing Dublin's slide.
"It's a different challenge for them now but I'm sure it's one they'll embrace," Brogan said of his former team mates.
"They came into a team that was quite settled and had a couple of All-Irelands under their belt already. Now they're the leaders of the group and other lads are looking at them.
"The lads were back earlier in the year. They were enthusiastic to come back out and get stuck into it again. They'll have had a bit of reset over the last few weeks, had a bit of a break.
"Ciarán Kilkenny and Brian Fenton will come back very hungry.
"They're experienced footballers, big boys. All of a sudden they're the leaders on a Dublin team that's not good enough to win an All-Ireland, so they'll see that as a huge challenge.
"Even if Dublin don't win the All-Ireland, or don't get to the final, I expect to see the senior boys come out fighting very hard."
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