Now we know how good Steve Gostkowski can be.

Gostkowski injured his left (plant) ankle in April 2007 and missed key portions of off-season training and conditioning which he admitted on Wednesday affected him.

“Last year (2007) I had twisted my ankle and there was about a month where I couldn’t do anything leg-wise,” Gostkowski said. “I had a full year this year and got into a good workout program and it just pays off. Hopefully, come week 10 or week 12 I’ll still feel as good as I do right now and that’s the whole plan of the off-season workout.”

Vinatieri made a name for himself in Snow Bowl.

But as evidenced Sunday, he is certainly back to full strength after a full off-season of strength and conditioning.

After his performance on Sunday at the Meadowlands, no one is even thinking the name Adam Vinatieri anymore at Gillette Stadium.

Make no mistake, No. 4 will always be No. 1 in the hearts of many Patriots fans who recall the beginning of the run of the current Patriots dynasty – and for good reason. It was Vinatieri who hit two Super Bowl-winning kicks and booted two of the most famous field goals in history against Oakland in the snow of January 2002.

But from the moment he was drafted out of the University of Memphis, the Patriots put their support behind Gostkowski. And for good reason.

Including Sunday’s 19-10 win when he matched a career high with four fields goals and five touchbacks, Gostkowski is now 23-for-24 in his career from 20-29 yards, 17 of 21 from 30-39 yards and 1-for-1 over 50 yards and has missed just one extra point in 121 career attempts.

For the well-healed Gostkowski, the kicks figure to keep on coming.