Plenty of coaches have tried to pull it off over the years, and none have succeeded. But that’s not deterring Jets coach Todd Bowles.
In Monday comments to the media, Bowles made it clear that he hopes to conceal his Week One starter until the start of his team’s Week One game against the Lions in Detroit.
The topic came up when Bowles was asked whether it’s realistic for rookie Sam Darnold to leapfrog Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater within the next month.
“You got to play preseason games,” Bowles said. “I’m not into hypotheticals and nothing that hasn’t happened yet but we are going to let him play, then after the fourth preseason [game], some time that week I’ll make my decision and go from there.”
Pressed for more on that point, Bowles said this: “I’m not pinpointing any decision [when] the guy runs out on the field [Monday night] in Week One, you’ll see who the starter is.”
While Bowles surely would prefer that the Lions not know who the Week One starter will be until the offense trots onto the field for the first drive of the game, it’s simply not realistic. Once the Jets begin their practice sessions in advance of the Monday night opener, someone will be getting the first-team reps and, inevitably, someone who participates in or witnesses the practice will tell someone about it. Which means the rest of us will know, too.