After a relatively slow season opener -- though he still did enough to help beat the Jaguars -- Newton has ramped up his game. In fact, Sunday's win over the Saints, in which he completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 315 yards and two passing touchdowns against zero interceptions for a rating of 119.7, ranks as one of his better career outings. In general, he seems more confident in his knowledge of both the offense and opposing defenses than he has in the past. He's more than a product of the system. Rather, he seems to understand the system and how to thrive within it. He no longer seems to drop back with no plan, and he's no longer as quick to take off as he once was. He also seems to know how to work around the limitations of his offensive line; he's getting the ball out of his hand more quickly, which has led to him cutting down on his sack rate (his sack percentage of 4.8 this season is much lower than his career mark of 7.2 percent). That's a key factor, as sacks can really devastate an offensive game plan.