HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- With the massive hit the New York Jets have taken in recent days from fans and media following the trade of superstar wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, it was only natural for them to go on the defensive.

So as they went into Saturday's NFL Draft with an unprecedented four first-round picks, the Jets went defensive all right.

And while they were at it, they reshaped the complexion of their entire team.

All week, we heard talk about the Jets moving into the top 10 where they could draft Plaxico Burress, who has been touted as a Keyshawn clone.

But it might be impossible to replace Johnson, and in the end, the Jets opted not to try.

Meet the new-look Jets, a team that will go back to the very smashmouth style that made Bill Parcells a legend with that other New York team all those years ago.

Though Parcells, the lame duck director of football operations, won't coach these 2000 New York Jets, his image will be firmly implanted in them.

With the Big Tuna running the war room at Jets headquarters -- despite everyone's ridiculous denials to the contrary -- the Jets drafted a pair of defensive stoppers at Nos. 12 and 13.

First, they selected defensive end Shaun Ellis from Tennessee, a quick and bruising quarterback masher. Then, they grabbed South Carolina's John Abraham, a linebacker who, in rookie head coach Al Groh's words, is "a big bomber at that position, whether it's as an outside linebacker or an outside rusher, that's 255 pounds and runs 4.7."

"I'll do my best for New York," promised Abraham in a conference call with reporters. "I'll show people I can play. I'm just hoping I can make a good impact on New York Giants football. I have the natural ability, I just need some more experience."

Hopefully, once he gets some, he'll realize that it is the Jets that drafted him and not the Giants. But the Jets aren't after geniuses here. Just guys who hit hard.

All kidding aside, the Jets have decided to abandon the wide open offensive approach that led to their surprising 12-4 campaign in 1998.

From this day forward, their defense will set the tone.

Groh, a defensive coach all the way, wasn't about to argue that change in philosophy that became a virtual necessity the day the lever was pushed on the controversial trade that sent blossoming Pro Bowl receiver Johnson to the Bucs for two first rounders (Nos. 13 and 27).

"They both bring speed and power to the defensive front," Groh said. "This is a power-packed selection with these two guys. We were looking for power and speed. Both of these players have power and speed for their position. As their careers evolve, both should be three down players. Certainly in the early going, both of them have excellent potential to be third down players. One can be an inside rusher, the other can be an outside rusher, could use them both as outside rushers as both were in college. They fill a common formula."

It is a formula that can win championships, as the Lawrence Taylor-Carl Banks combo proved back in the Giants' glory days.

But the Johnson trade, if nothing else, showed the Jets are playing just as much for future championships as they are for the 2000 season.

This is a far cry from the approach they took last year, when all of the focus was on giving Parcells a heroic swan song, something that was obliterated when Vinny Testaverde's Achilles' exploded on the Meadowlands turf just minutes into Opening Day.

And if there was anything that exemplified the Jets' new "big picture" approach, it came with their third selection Saturday, when they drafted a player who doesn't figure to start for at least two or three seasons.

This one was a no-brainer. When quarterback Chad Pennington, easily the most highly touted signal caller in the draft was surprisingly still on the board at 18, Parcells and Groh scooped him up without so much as blinking.

The 36-year-old Testaverde, who has tirelessly rehabbed from surgery with the intent of being ready for the first snap of training camp, need not panic. His job is safe. Same goes for Ray Lucas, the lovable underdog who spearheaded the Jets' sizzling late-season run.

"We were a little surprised to find Chad Pennington at that position," Groh said. "Pro football is a game of quarterbacks. Amongst the common thread that all good teams have is excellent play at the quarterback position. We give ourselves opportunity to have that many years to come. A team usually has to use their first round selection to get a quarterback like this, but we were able to improve ourselves at other positions and get a quarterback for the long term."

Back to the short term, it isn't merely on the defensive side that the Jets will be bruising.

That's because Testaverde won't be airing the ball out like he did in '98, when he fired a Jet record 29 TDs for a division championship team that came within a second-half choke at Denver of going to the Super Bowl.

This became obvious when it came time for the Jets to take their final first-rounder at No. 27.

Sure, they needed someone besides Wayne Chrebet to, as Keyshawn might say, catch the damn ball. But they decided it didn't need to be a receiver. Instead, they went with a 6-foot-5, 262-pound tight end out of West Virginia named Anthony Becht.

West Virginia tight end Anthony Becht impresses the Jets with his size and toughness.(AP)

In other words, when Testaverde's lone reliable target -- the diminutive Chrebet -- is covered, the offense will be a lot of Curtis Martin and a cloud of dust. And short patterns over the middle to Becht that won't look too much different than say, Phil Simms to Mark Bavaro.

"Becht falls into somewhat the same category as Ellis and Abraham," Groh said. "A big, tough player. A 270-pound tight end. He's got size and power and demonstrated toughness. Definitely a characteristic we want to emphasize. These are three tough players, physically and competitively."

So in a tough town, the Jets will be a tough team.

As for the history of making four first round picks?

"It's nice history to be making," Groh said. "But the only history that really counts is in the won and loss column."

Which makes you wonder why the Jets didn't make more of an effort to quell Keyshawn's contract concerns rather than sending him on the first plane south.

"When we made this decision (to trade Keyshawn), do you think we did it because we want to lose?" Groh asked rhetorically. "We want to win. And we want to win right now. This is a league of right now. We are trying to win every week. Our plan for this year is to win the division and then to attempt to win as many games to win as we can after that. Ultimately, every player and coach is accountable for his own performance "

And if this grand plan doesn't pay immediate dividends, nobody will be held more accountable than the new coach.

Even if the old coach was making most -- if not all -- of the decisions.