Last weekend should have been a magical one for football. Well, what a letdown it was.

When the draws were made, the ties were mouthwatering. We were guaranteed at least two classics, surely.

As the weekend approached, I heard some observers describe it as Christmas Eve for all football followers. But, when the games were unwrapped, the excitement was replaced by a real sense of disappointment.

Take nothing away from Kerry and Dublin, who were both superb and delivered clinical second half displays in which their opponents couldn’t live with them. What they showed us was that the jeopardy of knockout football was exactly what they were waiting for all year.

A combined winning margin of 24 points didn’t flatter, them but the drop-offs by Tyrone and Mayo were incredibly disappointing.

In truth, Tyrone never got going and even in the first half Kerry looked far superior. Kerry were ravenous and looked like a team that was hurting from the defeat to Tyrone two years ago. They bullied them all over the pitch.

Mayo, on the other hand, were brilliant in the first half and probably felt they should have been in front at half-time; the fact that they weren’t may have affected them psychologically .

Dublin were out on the pitch first after half-time, which is very rare. They stood waiting for Mayo, who seemed to amble back out.

It looked like a few Mayo players weren’t even in position as the ball was thrown in. It was already too late. Ten seconds later Paul Mannion had the ball over the bar and the famous Dublin third quarter surge had begun.

Armagh and Monaghan went all the way to penalties but that shouldn’t mask the fact that it was a desperately poor game.

Yes, there were bursts of real quality from the likes of Conor McCarthy, Aidan Forker, Gary Mohan, Rian O’Neill and Conor McManus but, overall, it was an extremely hard watch.

Monaghan are the real story but Armagh, once again, leave us scratching our heads.

Kieran McGeeney spoke in the aftermath of the win over Galway about the empty vessels in the media that were criticising his team’s style of play.

Well, whatever about empty vessels, but the Armagh team bus must have been an echo chamber pulling out of Croker on Saturday. If I was a player on that team, I would be hugely frustrated by the tactics set out by McGeeney. It stinks of a manager that doesn’t trust his team.

That brings me to Derry and Cork and the most forgettable game I have ever attended in Croke Park. It summed up so much of what is wrong with the modern game.

The lack of imagination and risk when both teams were in possession was staggering. The shadow tackle is becoming more prevalent in football and it was in full glare in this encounter - there was barely any contact.

I would be very surprised if any of the players woke up sore the following morning, which is a poor reflection of an All-Ireland quarter-final.

I noted that Roy Keane was in the crowd. I’m sure he was wishing a few players would smash into each other.

Kicking is still king

Possession football has, of course, been a hallmark of this year’s Championship.

But, despite how much teams try to implement it and bore us all to death, the weekend proved that to create goal chances in particular, you need to kick the ball.

Eammon Fitzmaurice on commentary for Dublin-Mayo couldn’t have timed pointing out how kicking the ball in the final third creates scores any better - the ball was just leaving Davy Byrne’s foot for a long delivery to Colm Basquel for his first goal as he said it.

I’ve heard Byrne’s ball being described as ‘agricultural’, but I keep saying that defenders are not used to defending these kind of situations. Why it is not used more regularly, even with set defences, is beyond me.

There were six goals scored at the weekend. Five of them came from kicking the ball into the forward line.

Yes, James McCarthy’s ball in for Dublin’s second goal was overcooked and the goal came as a result of a defensive mistake, but moving the ball forward quickly can force these errors.

Derry’s goal was the only one last weekend which came from running the ball. In fact, in the whole game, Derry only kicked the ball twice from outside the 45 into their attack - and one of these led to their penalty.

Cork only kicked it inside the 45 six times but it led to their goal from Rory Maguire and another goal chance in the first half for Kevin O’Donavan, which he chose to fist over the bar.

Kerry’s two goals were brilliantly constructed by moving the ball quickly through the foot.

So, despite conservative tactics being widely implemented, kicking still remains king.

This weekend a welcome breather

I never thought I would say this - but I am actually glad that there are no senior games on this weekend.

It just feels that there has been no let-up and almost too much happening in a short space of time.

It could go a long way to explaining why the quarters-finals were so poor last weekend. Three of the four preliminary quarter-finalists looked out on their feet in the second half of their games.

The last few weeks have confirmed my initial hunch - that the top two in the group should go through to the quarter-finals and the preliminary round needs to go.

The teams that played in the preliminary games were in action on four out the last five weekends. We have gone for quantity rather than quality.

The reward of a home preliminary quarter-final for finishing second in your group is also a nonsense - three out of the four away teams got through.

Less is sometimes more.

Minor final tradition should be restored

The All-Ireland minor final between Derry and Monaghan takes place tomorrow in Armagh.

I know people will point to Offaly-Tipperary minor hurling final at a packed Nowlan Park last year, but I am a firm believer these games should be played in Croke Park on All-Ireland final day, as was always the case.