The quarterback is getting fined for moping. The receivers are competing to see who can drop the most passes. The star cornerback is just now getting healthy after a hamstring injury.

There are times when it seems like the Jets offense will never score again, and in those long stretches, you wonder if Fireman Ed might do a better job calling the plays than Brian Schottenheimer.

(Yes, I understand that point-counterpoint columns are supposed to state the case in favor of something. This is like the Jets’ passing game — be patient, it’ll get there.)

The Jets have yet to play what they’d consider their “A” game — heck, against the Lions on Sunday, they were barely a C-minus until the final five minutes. And still, here they are, tied for the best record in the league.

“The best is yet to come,” is how that star cornerback, Darrelle Revis, put it Monday, and I believe him. The Jets are winning games when they don’t play well, one measure of a good team.

Imagine how good they’ll be when — and I think it’s a matter of time — they finally do.

Okay, my venerable colleague Dave D. is no doubt going to point out that the Giants already have.


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• D'Alessandro: Giants are dominating like truly great teams, unlike arrogant Jets
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He is smitten with how they beat up a mediocre Seattle team with a backup quarterback who looks like a reject from a bad surfing movie. He is going to bury you with statistics about how they are dominating the NFL’s junior varsity conference.

After covering the Nets for so long, Dave is forgiven if his judgment on good teams is a bit off kilter. And, look, there is no arguing this: The Giants are on quite a roll right now.

But this debate is not which team is better now — and don’t forget, if there ever was an award for midseason excellence, the league could name it the Coughlin Trophy. This is about which team is better. Period.

The Jets will prove to be that team. They are 6-0 when they actually score a touchdown; their losses came against a pair of likely playoff teams — the Packers and the Ravens — by a combined 10 points.

They’ve had a chance to win every game, which is something the Giants can’t say, no matter how well they’ve played the last five weeks. Remember, just a month-and-a-half ago it was Indianapolis 38-14 and Tennessee 29-10, and neither game was that close.


Jeff Kowalsky/EPAWith Darrelle Revis healthy again, Jets head coach Rex Ryan, above, has a full deck again, so expect the Jets to get more aggressive, says Steve Politi.

Who, exactly, have the Giants beaten? The Bears, on a day when they decided blocking was optional? Carolina, a team that might not win the SEC? Dallas, league leaders in dysfunction?

The Jets have two quality wins, over the Patriots and the Dolphins, and are the league’s only remaining unbeaten team on the road. Last season, they had an awful habit of losing leads in the fourth quarter; this year, resiliency late in games has become a strength.

“Finishing games,” Revis said, “is something we didn’t do nearly as well in the past.”

But really, it comes down to this: Game on the line, which defense would you rather have? The Jets have allowed just 16.3 points a game, and have done much of that with their best player either on the bench or on one leg.

Revis is healthy again, and what he did to Calvin Johnson is proof. He held the Detroit star to one catch for 13 yards, and now that Rex Ryan has a full deck again, expect the Jets to get more aggressive.

Yes, the Jets are inconsistent on offense. Ryan and Schottenheimer need to forget the “ground and pound” and take the handcuffs off quarterback Mark Sanchez — and the fourth-quarter comeback against the Lions is proof that good things happen when they do.

Sanchez completed 10 of 13 passes for 144 yards in the final three drives. “It’s a big step up for him from last year,” tight end Dustin Keller said. Is he as good as his Giants counterpart? No, but the gap isn’t nearly as big as it appears.

Eli Manning might have more touchdown passes (17 to Sanchez’s 10), but with 11 interceptions and five fumbles, he also has three times as many turnovers. Sanchez is not there yet, but the second-year pro is developing far quicker than Manning did at this stage of his career.

Manning and the Giants look like they’re peaking now. Sanchez and the Jets have the same 6-2 record and still haven’t played their best football. Imagine how good they’ll be when they do.

Steve Politi: spoliti@starledger.com; twitter.com/NJ_StevePoliti