NFL

In praise of Plax

In between making dynamic game-changing plays, see the Jets receiver preen and prance after catching touchdown passes, call out teammates for poor play when the team is struggling, pout when he’s not getting enough balls thrown his way and grow defiant when his actions are called into question.

Go ahead, admit if you were asked before the season, you’d figure that diva receiver’s name would be Plaxico Burress.

Burress, after all, arrived to the Jets almost straight from the penitentiary after doing 22 months for gun possession, and with that comes an assumption he’s a bad guy.

Ask Burress’ Jets teammates what kind of teammate he is and what you get is consistent praise — even more than they give him for his play on the field.

And all Burress has done on the field is catch eight touchdown passes, draw double coverage and almost single-handedly transform the Jets’ red zone offense from a weakness to a strength this season — they’re ranked No. 1 in the NFL in that category, scoring TDs on 68.1 percent of their trips inside the 20.

It will be fitting if he’s a central figure in Saturday’s game between the Jets and Giants at MetLife Stadium with their respective seasons hanging precariously in the balance, because there won’t be a more polarizing figure involved in the game than Burress.

He’s as much responsible as any player on the Giants for their Super Bowl victory four years ago. That makes him as much a reason as anyone that Tom Coughlin is still employed as the Giants’ head coach.

But Burress is as much a reason for the Giants’ and Coughlin’s demise since that Super Bowl win. They haven’t been the same since Burress shot himself in the leg on that fateful November night in Manhattan in 2008.

The loss of Burress for the rest of the 2008 season derailed the Giants. They were bounced from the playoffs in the first round and haven’t been back since.

For those of you scoring at home, the Giants haven’t won a postseason game since Burress caught the game-winning pass in the Super Bowl in February 2008.

So wouldn’t it be fascinating to see Burress contribute to the Giants’ 2011 demise by making a game-changing play or two for the Jets on Saturday?

Coupled with the Giants’ inexplicable show of disinterest in their home loss to the Redskins Sunday, a loss to the Jets leading to an end to their playoff chances could be the end for Coughlin.

That would be sadly ironic, particularly if Burress has something to do with it.

Does that make him a bad guy?

Not if you ask his teammates, who yesterday offered effusive praise of the way he has handled himself in the searing spotlight of pressure with so many waiting for him to ether slip up off the field or be ineffective on it after being away from the game for those nearly two years in prison.

“A man of character,’’ defensive tackle Sione Pouha said.

“A lot of people thought it may be over for him, but he’s stood tall,’’ right guard and team captain Brandon Moore said.

“You never see him complaining about anything or bringing any negativity to the team,’’ said cornerback Darrelle Revis, another team captain. “The guy is a class act.’’

Even as you find yourself scratching your head wondering why Mark Sanchez doesn’t throw to him more often, not once this season have you heard even a hint of Burress complaining about not getting the ball.

Not once have you heard Burress come close to throwing a teammate under the bus or making an imbecile of himself with one of those look-at-me TD celebrations that draw excessive celebration or taunting penalties.

If those unsavory actions sound familiar to Jets fans, Burress isn’t the receiver you might have been thinking would be that guy.

That guy is Santonio Holmes, who wears the “C’’ on his jersey as a team captain — a title that too often belies his boorish behavior.

The truth is Burress has conducted himself more like a captain on this team than Holmes has.