Eight passes into the game Kevin Kolb looked every bit of Derek Anderson.

The new Cardinals QB had completed just two of eight passes, missing open receivers and failing to put enough air under his deep throws to Larry Fitzgerald. Give No. 11 time to get under the ball and chances are he'll go and get it.

"The two that I missed him on...I'm thinking, ‘Come on Kevin, give him a chance at it, he's Larry Fitzgerald,'" Kolb said after the game.

Then the QB called a play -- out of a no-huddle offense -- and his night did a 180.

"That was the first of many hopefully," Kolb said of his 80-yard touchdown strike to Larry Fitzgerald.

For the first time this preseason, I'll admit I can see that being the case.

It's not that Kolb had been bad, at least, not until the beginning of this game. It's that the guy had made exactly zero throws of note, with his only redeeming quality being that he wasn't the aforementioned Anderson or Max Hall.

Great enough as that is, the Cardinals want more. They need more. And, Saturday night in Glendale, Kolb gave them more.

"I've said the sky's the limit for our offense, and that's because the more that I can take on and be able to communicate with those guys the better we're going to be," he said.

Yes, while many will say it's about the running game, the defense or the offensive line, the truth is this season will come down to No. 4.

Finally one can say, not from hope but rather what they've seen on the field, that Kolb leading this team isn't such a scary proposition.

Kolb finished the game having completed 11 of 20 passes for 205 yards, one touchdown and one key block downfield. The block, which helped free Andre Roberts for a 34-yard touchdown run, was another sign of just how much Kolb cares.

"I told [coach Whisenhunt] I was going to go cut somebody earlier in practice and of course he put an end to that real fast," Kolb said. "It was good. My job is always to, I call it, ‘push and pester,' I'm just trying to get in the way of somebody without having to throw a shoulder or flipper at them and Andre did the rest of the work."

One long touchdown throw does not a QB make, nor does throwing a block on a running play. But Kolb got into rhythm after his first touchdown as a Cardinal, and in completing nine of his final 12 passes he showed Valley fans exactly why the team gave up what it did to acquire him.

His new favorite target is sure glad they did.

"I'm just excited that he's here," Larry Fitzgerald said of his quarterback. "He's a guy that wants to make the big play and wants to make the right pass, and I think that attitude is infectious amongst his teammates on offense and we're really fortunate to have his services."

They say it's not about how you start, rather it's how you finish that matters most. Kevin Kolb is likely a firm believer in the saying, finishing strong Saturday after a shaky beginning.

It's a start.