New Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb played in two series in Thursday night’s preseason opener against the Raiders, and he didn’t lead the Cardinals to any points. But Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said he liked what he saw.
“For only having five practices, I though he performed well,” Whisenhunt said of Kolb. “There’s a leadership quality to him that I’m excited to see.”
Kolb’s first pass was an ugly one: The Raiders blitzed and Kolb hurried a throw to Larry Fitzgerald, who didn’t run the route Kolb thought he would. The ball fell incomplete about 10 yards from where Fitzgerald was standing.
But Kolb also hit Fitzgerald on a deep ball down the sideline for 43 yards, and picked up 17 yards on another completion to Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was well-covered on the 43-yard reception but managed to grab the ball by reaching over Raiders cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke.
“That’s his specialty, right?” Kolb said. “The guy had him beat, I gave him a shot at it anyways, and he squeezed it and made a great play. That’s why I am glad he is red and white.”
Kolb went 4-of-7 for 68 yards and also had a 15-yard run on third-and-10. Whisenhunt was satisfied.
“For it to be this early in the process with him, I am very excited about that,” Whisenhunt said. “We still have a lot of installation, a lot of stuff that we are going to do yet, but that is a good point to grow from.”
