Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel is apparently a huge fan of Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. I mean, not that anyone could blame him, as Cam Newton remains one of the more special athletes in all of the National Football League.

Yeah. Yeah. Newton is no longer that guy everyone is talking about, as if it were a few years back. Yet, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com, Marquand Manuel is still plenty worried about what Newton can do to carry the Panthers offense.

“(Newton's) different,” Falcons defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel said. “He's a different athlete than anybody. When I say he's the best player in our league, he's a different athlete than anybody else. So you have to be unique and understand that he can break tackles. He can use his stiff arm, just like Jonathan Stewart there.”

Other players on the Falcons believe they know how to stop him:

“Tackle his legs,” free safety Ricardo Allen said of Newton. “You can't run without legs. You've just got to go for the legs. No matter how big you are, you can't run without legs.”

At the same time, Allen will give credit where it is due:

“He's gotten much better in his passing game,” Allen said of Newton. “He's really focused on his fundamentals, setting his feet and not just throwing balls with all arms because he's a powerful quarterback. He can throw the ball anywhere.”

To put everything in more blunt terms: Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is good at football.