PITTSBURGH -- They may have been, during a 2001 season in which the offense was about as imaginative as a paint-by-numbers set and the passing blueprint possessed all of the explosiveness of water-logged dynamite, the NFL's most inaptly named franchise.

The New York Jets were, quite simply, not even worthy of bi-plane status. They were, in fact, flightless. Kind of like a dodo.

When the Jets played, the air traffic control system shut down and the folks manning the radar could take a break. It was as if the franchise's nickname was an acronym for "Just Establish The Stodgy." No one was ready for takeoff.

	Moss (pictured) and Coles could both end up in the starting lineup.

Of his 22 pass attempts of 31 yards or more, Vinny Testaverde completed just two, for 73 yards and one touchdown. New York had one pass play of 40 yards. Of the 928 offensive snaps the Jets logged, they had but two runs longer than 40 yards, one of 47 yards by Curtis Martin and another of 46 yards by LaMont Jordan.

New York averaged an anemic 10.56 yards a completion, the sixth lowest in the NFL, and the team's 5.67 yards per pass attempt was below the league norm. In the version of the West Coast offense implemented by coordinator Paul Hackett, the ball rarely traveled vertically upfield and the dinks and dunks far outnumbered the detonations. The running game was solid enough, ranking No. 4 in the league, but was at times sporadic.

That the Jets still qualified for the playoffs in coach Herm Edwards' debut season, with a 10-6 record forged more through resourcefulness than recklessness, was nothing shy of stupefying, given an offense that statistically ranked No. 29 overall leaguewide.

"There probably weren't enough dimensions to the offense," said wide receiver Wayne Chrebet. "We wanted to be sound and basic, to not turn the ball over, but instead we may have played things too safe sometimes. But things are already different (this year)."

From what most players claimed, the playbook hasn't changed nearly as dramatically as some have been led to believe, but there are a few new wrinkles. More important, the team and Testaverde are more in harmony with what Hackett wants to accomplish, and there is more emphasis on aggressive play-calling. One can bet that Testaverde, who had just three games of more than 250 passing yards in 2001, will enhance those numbers. It's as if the training wheels have been removed from the offense, one veteran noted.

The metamorphosis began shortly after New York's 38-24 playoff defeat to the Oakland Raiders, a game that demonstrated how potent the Jets passing game could be when the constraints were removed. In the days following that defeat, Edwards began his planning for 2002 by authoring his offseason game plan, and topping the list of priorities was a simple entry: Establish more playmakers.

That's precisely what the New York offense plans to accomplish this season.

Indeed, in the Jets' preseason victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers last Thursday night, New York flashed some hints that Hackett will open things up more in '02. Some people are surprised the New York coordinator retained his job after the frustrations privately vented by a few players last season, but Hackett himself has promised change, and the addition of longtime coordinator Jimmy Raye to the staff will provide a fresher set of eyes with which to assess the Jets' personnel.

Certainly the running game, powered by the always under appreciated Martin, will still be the centerpiece of the Jets' attack. But against the Pittsburgh defense, the Jets took some shots deep, and even seemed to stretch some of their intermediate routes a few yards. If Testaverde has fully recovered from surgery to remove a tumor from his foot, he will be the beneficiary of the newfound emphasis on verticality, and should have some fun with the fleet wide receiver tandem of Santana Moss and Laveranues Coles.

	“	His quickness is incredible. He doesn't have to throttle down at all to come out of a cut. He feels like he can run past any corner in the league, that's how confident he is in his speed, and he plays a lot bigger than his physical size. ”
		— Backup QB Chad Pennington on WR Santana Moss

In his 16th season, Testaverde remains an enigma, but the good-guy quarterback frankly also represents the Jets' best chance to win. There have been times in his career when he seems to play only well enough to get beat in close games, and he has demonstrated some proclivity for the critical, late-game turnover. But he is still a worthy competitor and a guy who, while a streak shooter, can ravage a secondary when he gets the hot hand.

"The game is still enjoyable for me and, yeah, I believe I can still play at a high level, maybe for several more years," Testaverde said late Thursday night. "I feel pretty good physically now, since the foot has improved a lot the last month, and I think they still count on me around here."

Moss is also being counted on, after a 2001 rookie season all but wiped out by injuries, to provide a big-play dimension Testaverde hasn't always had available to him. The truth is, the former University of Miami star and first-round draft choice of a year ago, could be the key to the Jets' plans for a quick-strike component.

Coles has developed, during his first two seasons, as a player with whom secondaries must reckon. He is big and athletic, averaged 14.7 yards a catch in 2001, scored seven touchdowns and continued to mature off the field from the one-time problem child booted off the team at Florida State.

But it is Moss, who underwent knee surgery in training camp last year and suffered from a myriad of physical problems even when he returned to the field, who can put the ball in the end zone from anywhere on the field. Even if he doesn't bump Chrebet from the No. 1 unit, Moss will be on the field plenty, because Hackett has vowed to make extensive use of three-wide receiver formations. Moss will likely return punts as well.

He is the turbo-charger, a guy who can nudge the Jets out of the propeller stage in which they spent most of 2001.

"His quickness is incredible," said backup quarterback Chad Pennington. "He doesn't have to throttle down at all to come out of a cut. He feels like he can run past any corner in the league, that's how confident he is in his speed, and he plays a lot bigger than his physical size. People that haven't seen him will get their eyes opened, believe me."

For his part, Moss doesn't like to expound on the lost season of 2001, and prefers to speak of what lies ahead. He is essentially a rookie, but with a year of experience in the system, a guy who knows most of the ropes now. Moss is acutely aware of how all the parameters of the New York offense have been stretched to dovetail with his unique skills and he is eager to validate the changes.

Who knows, they might actually have to clear the air space this year over the stadiums in which the Jets are playing.

"I think we're going to throw it deep when the opportunities are there," Moss said. "And with the speed we've got, we'll create the opportunities."

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.