Dublin facing nightmare scenario starting All-Ireland group in Galway, can they rally after Leinster letdown?
DUBLIN'S summer could go from bad to worse against Galway today.
Whether three teams qualify or not, losing your first group game puts you on the back foot straight away.
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A lot is falling on Ciaran Kilkenny's shoulders with so many other members of that great Dublin team now retired
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Meath legend Graham Geraghty writes for SunSport throughout the inter-county Championship season
A defeat in the west would really turn the heat up on the Sky Blues — and it's likely to happen.
Dessie Farrell's men have had time to regroup and take stock of
All the chat of their downfall has to be getting to the players as well.
Everyone knows they're not as good as they were.
But if you were in that dressing room, hearing it would fire you up to prove them all wrong.
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Those players know how to shield themselves from negativity. But some of those doubts have to sink in.
Galway
Taking down Mayo in their own backyard — without Shane Walsh and Damien Comer — was another big stepping stone for this group.
Pádraic Joyce's star pair are vital to their All-Ireland hopes but the likes of Matthew Thompson and Rob Finnerty really stood up without them.
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Either way, the same reliance on the pair isn't there anymore, and that's a great scenario for any manager.
Dublin GAA legends reunite in Germany after taking part in gruelling sporting phenomenon
Walsh likes playing out from goal and running at teams with pace on top of his obvious scoring threat.
He scored 0-7 in the All-Ireland quarter-final win over the Dubs last June.
And he could easily surpass that today with his ability to kick two-pointers.
Comer provides that target and physical presence on the edge of the square.
He showed that against Dublin in the league when he scored a wonderful goal off the bench.
But Galway can manage fine today without him. They're building a serious resilience and know how to win tight games.
That's why today is a nightmare start for a Dublin team still smarting from the Meath defeat and away from the comforts of Croke Park once more.
The kickouts are going to be vital too. Salthill is always windy.
Whoever wins the toss surely has to play with the wind and rack up a big lead.
Meath really went after Stephen Cluxton's restarts in Portlaoise and it was the deciding factor in the end, as they led by 12 at half-time.
Obviously Galway will have looked at that as well. They'll be eager to apply the same pressure on home soil.
With the new rules, gone are the days when Cluxton could just dink the ball out to a corner-back.
And after some high-profile Sky Blues retirements, he doesn't have James McCarthy or Brian Fenton to aim for if he does go long.
It's up to the likes of Ciarán Kilkenny and Peadar Ó Cófaigh Byrne to change that now and make their presence really felt if they want to win.
They've had three weeks to work on it, so rest assured Cluxton's distribution will be a lot better at Pearse Stadium but the pressure Galway apply to those kicks will be crucial.
Losing your first game is not what you want.
Imagine an angry Armagh team coming to Croker in a fortnight to really twist the knife? It all points to a Galway win for me.
COMING TO THE KINGDOM
The All-Ireland series starts in Killarney today when Kerry host Roscommon.
I saw the Rossies in the flesh in Navan and they were poor — but they love a Championship scalp too.
They stunned Tyrone in Omagh in the preliminary round last year and gave Armagh plenty to think about in the quarters.
They were really disappointing in their Connacht semi- final loss to Galway.
But that brings its own chance to go back to the drawing board and refocus.
Davy Burke has some fine players to call upon in Enda Smith, Brian Stack and Diarmuid Murtagh — but they don't really have enough overall quality to beat the Kingdom.
Paudie Clifford is back after missing the Clare game and Jack O'Connor will just want to win this and move on.
I tipped Kerry at the start of the year to win the All-Ireland and I haven't changed my mind on that just yet.
DOWN IN CLARE
Clare's game against Down in Ennis tomorrow will be interesting given the holes the Mourne men punched in Donegal and the fact the Banner still scored 0-21 in the Munster final loss to Kerry.
Both of them will fancy getting something out of it. Down won the Tailteann Cup but had a poor league — getting relegated back to Division 3.
Clare shipped four goals against Kerry but should win at Cusack Park if they can sort that out.
Cavan are going to Castlebar with nothing to lose against Mayo and will fancy a scalp.
But they had a desperate performance in Ulster against Tyrone, and the gap between the top and the rest is still plain to see in games like that.
WHOLE MAYO
Mayo will be seething from losing another Connacht final and their failure to see it out.
Diarmuid O'Connor got more minutes into him after a shoulder injury has been annoying him all year.
But Paddy Durcan's return is a boost for Kevin McStay after their captain and leader tore his ACL this time last year.
Durcan resumed full training during the league and rightfully wasn't risked — but it was surprising he didn't come off the bench against Galway when he was named in the 26.
They're a hugely experienced team and will be eager to get a home win after what happened two weeks ago.
A result today will get them back on track but we might not be talking about Mayo for much longer in the grand scheme of things.
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