google_ad_section tag question

Does anyone know if the actual AdSense JS code has to be within the

<!-- google_ad_section_start -->
my content
<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

construct? I am trying to fight a mediocre relevance on a site that has the JS outside the opening and closing tags, although very close by - in an adjacent table cell. Anyone sees that as a potential problem affecting relevance?

Thanks for your input!