It’s the most commonly asked question after every single one of the Jets media-available practices:

So. . . how did rookie quarterback Christian Hackenberg look?!

And it’s met with the exact same answer each and every time:

No clue.

Now, don’t chalk this one up to reporter ignorance, or observation laziness. See. . . there’s no actual way to tell how the majority of the Jets rookies (unless they’re already starters) are looking. Outside of individual drills where anyone with moderate athletic ability can look good beating tackle dummies, those lower on the depth chart, or on the roster bubble, are kept far, far away from the media.

And that’s by design. Here’s why:

The way the Jets practice fields are set up is as such: Take the two closest pieces of paper nearest you, and position them on a table just in front of you. Put one paper above the other, laying hot-dog length. (Yay! Second-grade terminology!) Now, see that long, bottom edge on the paper on the bottom, or closest to you? That’s the sideline where the reporters stand at practice. Practice is conducted both on the top paper (field) and the bottom paper (field.)

Every team around the NFL has multiple practice fields as it allows teams to space out everyone via position. With 90-man rosters at this point in the offseason, that’s ideal. What most teams don’t do is what the Jets do do.

Normally, when time comes for “team” drills (11-on-11/7-on-7), the entire “team” comes together. The Jets don’t do this. See, they separate their teams. On that bottom piece of paper (field) nearest the reporters, the veterans and starters go against each other. At the exact same time on the top piece of paper (field), the rookies/UDFAs/roster-bubble guys face each other.

It’s a brilliant concept, one Bowles got when he was Arizona’s defensive coordinator under head coach Bruce Arians:

“With the number and amount of OTAs right now and the time you get to spend with [players],” Bowles during his first year as Jets coach, “they’re not going to get the reps if they’re just standing there watching the guys in front of them.

“So in order to get a fair assessment going into training camp, you try to get them as many reps as you can, so that’s the two fields. Just trying to get them caught up quicker.”

Think about that for a second, specifically with Hackenberg: The Jets, ideally, want to progress the quarterback so that in a year or two he’s ready to take over as the Jets starter. Right now though, Hackenberg is the Jets third-string quarterback behind starter Geno Smith, and second-year pro Bryce Petty.

If the Jets had everybody on one field, Hackenberg would be getting 1-2 reps (at most) during team drills. The bulk would go to Smith, then Petty, then the scraps left for Hackenberg.

But on that far field? Hackenberg is getting every single rep running the same exact offense and plays as the Jets starters. Sure, he’s not going up against Darrelle Revis or Sheldon Richardson, but he’s getting valuable reps seeing and learning an NFL offense.

Now, as a reporter writing this, I selfishly hate the concept. Hackenberg is a polarizing player, one with a lot of interest around him, and I’d love to be able to break down and see how he’s progressing and if he’s got a good grasp of the offense.

With him on that far field, though, it’s impossible to tell what’s going on. Through the first two weeks of OTAs, he could have thrown 40 touchdowns in practice, or 40 interceptions. . . there’s no way to know.

But from a football P.O.V? It’s brilliant. Hackenberg is getting more reps than both Smith and Petty to help his progression.

So, while reporters, and likely fans, don’t like the design now, ultimately, it’s going to be for the best.

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Connor Hughes covers the Jets and is the managing editor of Jets Wire. He can be reached on Twitter (@Connor_J_Hughes), or via email (chughes@usatoday.com)