Éamonn Fitzmaurice: Ranking the last eight All-Ireland SFC contenders

David Clifford of Kerry in action against Niall Carolan of Cavan. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

And then there were eight. Before the All-Ireland quarter finals is generally a good time to draw breath and rank the contenders. Usually, undeniable patterns have started to emerge, and a pecking order will have been established. That is not to say it always plays out that way but we have some sense of where we are going. 

Not this season. Every county still standing has lost at least once. Armagh, Tyrone and Dublin have lost twice. Teams have come into and fallen out of form on a remarkably regular basis. There have been wild disparities in performances from one week to the next. Whether studying the form objectively or subjectively, it is uniquely challenging to rank the teams. Previous reliables in helping to ascertain where a team is at, such as preceding results, injuries and player availability, star player form, previous experience of the ultimate success, the journey travelled so far, bookies' odds, and gut instinct are not as informative this season.