Quarterback Cam Newton called his fit with the New England Patriots a “match made in heaven” as he prepares to lead the team in its season opener Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.

“Honestly it’s been so overwhelming at times that I just haven’t been able to grasp it from a whole totality standpoint,” he said Monday morning on sports radio WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.”

“I was in Carolina, and had given everything to that organization that I possibly can, and I will always have a place in my heart for Carolina. But as a professional, you go where you’re summoned to go, and what’s best for your career. Just as it will be what’s best for the organization. I’ve just been loving myself and loving this opportunity I’ve had, coming into this position.”

Last week, coach Bill Belichick told players that Newton would be the team’s starting quarterback. Newton was also voted one of eight captains by players and coaches.

Before signing with the Patriots on July 8, Newton acknowledged that he didn’t know what to expect when it came to how he’d fit in New England.

“The same questions that a lot of people, and talk shows, gossip talk, and barber-shop talk, and chitter-chatter text messages wanted to know, I wanted to know as well,” he said on the radio show. “Is it real what they say about Belichick? Is it going to be too … I didn’t know. I think, honestly, it’s been a match made in heaven for me, just knowing that I’m at a place where everything is pulling in the same direction and everything is geared toward winning.

“Coming from a person that has won at all levels, I feel as if I do the things the right way, trusting a lot of the same people that got me to this point, and trusting coaching, I think this is something that when you look at an opportunity in a timely manner it can be accomplished.”

Newton added that any perception he had of Belichick “changed the day I talked to him.”

“You look at the lineage of players he’s had over the years. Obviously, [Tom] Brady. The Randy Mosses. Corey Dillons. Lawrence Taylors. The list goes on. Tedy Bruschi. It’s no wonder why he’s sustained success over the years,” he said.

“When I name those players, those are just a small smorgasbord of different types of guys, cultures, personas, and everything alike. If he was able to accomplish those things with those players, it made a lot of sense from the time I spoke to him, and obviously meeting him face to face, it removed any type of doubt — if I even had any. It’s just exciting to play for a person like that.”

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