Dessie Farrell wasn't getting carried away after Dublin inflicted a ninth-straight championship defeat on Meath at Croke Park.
Seán Bugler, Paul Mannion and Con O'Callaghan got the goals as the sky blues blew their neighbours away in front of a relatively small crowd of just over 21,000 at the Jones' Road venue.
While the Royals managed to disrupt the Dubs' kickout, the All-Ireland champions had far too much up front as they began their attempt for a 14th straight provincial title with a 16-point triumph.
Farrell's side will face Offaly next, while it's All-Ireland group stage preparations for Meath over the next five weeks.
"First round of the Leinster Championship, good to get through it against old rivals," he said.
"There were some good elements [and] some elements we won't be happy with. There's always something to work on no matter what the game or situation seems to be.
'A mixed bag' - Dublin boss Dessie Farrell offers an honest appraisal of an easy win over Meath. pic.twitter.com/cnhHX4r04X
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) April 14, 2024
"Areas you may have addressed previously come back to bite you. It's that type of a situation for us. Some things we thought we had fixed raised their head again today. Other things we were working at, it was good to see us execute and implement.
"We'll have to look at the tape. An initial assessment would be, it's a mixed bag for us in terms of the stuff we have we have been working on in the last two weeks.
"We move on at this stage."
Stephen Cluxton and Mick Fitzsimons started the game for their first appearances of 2024, while James McCarthy, the other player that can extend their record number of Celtic Crosses this summer, came on in the second half.
"It was great to get some time into the lads," Farrell said of the trio.
"The summer is almost upon us and bigger challenges lie ahead."
Meath manager Colm O'Rourke gave an honest appraisal of where his side are at, admitting that the result "showed a gulf in class."
Much has been made of O'Rourke's repeated mentions of how the teams he played on measured themselves against Dublin, and that he would be doing the same as manager.
And the Royals manager was offering no excuses afterwards.
"That's why Dublin are All-Ireland champions and have won six titles in eight or nine years. It shows that we're a long way behind.
"It seems like we were run over by a bus in the end. We were competitive for 40 minutes and I thought our first-half was ok. After that the power, pace and experience of Dublin caused havoc in the end.
"There's no substitute for experience. The work-rate and honesty of the Dublin players shone through. On top of that, and I've been saying it when I'm on television, Dublin have maybe half a dozen of the best footballers I have ever seen.
"The likes of Ciarán Kilkenny, and of course James McCarthy came back, Con O'Callaghan - these lads. They're players that are probably better than ever played in Croke Park [before]."
Meath boss Colm O'Rourke heaps praise on members of the Dublin 'bus' who ran over his side in the second half at Croke Park. pic.twitter.com/OH6PcdYSIA
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) April 14, 2024
Meath now face a wait before the All-Ireland group stages, which are set to get underway on the weekend of the 18/19 May.
It gives O'Rourke five weeks to try to get something out of the year, and the Royals manager is clear on what their target is.
"We're in the Sam Maguire series and we'd like to at least get to a preliminary quarter-final," he said. "I think that would be progress.
"We'll go away, lick our wounds and try to come back bigger and better."
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