2 coaching mistakes by Rivera cost Panthers

The Panthers had a number of high-profile mistakes on the field Sunday in their 30-28 loss to Atlanta -- a loss that I believe will scar this team for the rest of the season, as I wrote in this column. (After listening to Ron Rivera on Monday, too, I am pretty convinced that Haruki Nakamura will be benched for Sunday's game vs. Seattle.)

But there were also two big mistakes made by head coach Rivera and his coaching staff in my opinion.

The most important was at the end of the game when Rivera didn't go for it on fourth and 1 at the Atlanta 45, instead punting to Atlanta and giving the Falcons one more chance to win. He said after the game he might have gone for it on fourth-and-inches (the ball was originally marked closer to the first-down line after a Cam Newton fumble that the Panthers recovered) but never seriously considered it on fourth and one.

Why? "Because if you don't get it right there, they only have to go 30 yards to try a field goal and that's why we decided to punt," Rivera said. The punt then was downed at the Atlanta 1, where the Falcons began with 59 seconds left and no timeouts.

Rivera's players stood behind him for that call. (ESPN's stats department did not, though, saying Panthers actually went against the percentages there based on this excellent blog item from Pat Yasinskas). But even as it was happening the pressbox I was shaking my head. Why not win or lose the game with your strength (offense) instead of counting on your weakness (defense) to win it for you?

As I wrote in today's column:

Rivera’s call was understandable in a vacuum. A great Panthers punt meant the Falcons took over at their 1, with just 59 seconds left and no timeouts.

But the coach has also seen the Panthers defense for two years. He knows its weakness against the deep ball (Haruki Nakamura had already given up a 49-yard touchdown earlier) and the big play (Carolina had also allowed a short dump pass to Michael Turner to go for a 60-yard TD).

And Rivera knows how good Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan is. Yet the coach played the same percentages John Fox and every other conservative NFL coach undoubtedly would have in the same situation. Instead of trying to seal the game by running the ball for a single yard – and the Panthers already had 199 rushing yards – Rivera punted.

It was, simply, a bad call – a “play not to lose” sort of call.

The other call was at the end of the first half, when the Panthers totally mismanaged the clock in a two-minute drill.

Down 17-14, the Panthers took over at their 20 with 1:49 left and all three timeouts. What followed was a succession of short passes and runs – but no timeout taken until there were only 35 seconds left and Carolina faced second-and-2 from its 40.

By then it was too late, and the Panthers’ hurry-up offense never even crossed midfield (and the Panthers never used one of their timeouts). If Carolina had gotten a field goal there, it might have changed things.

Now it's also true that the coaching staff had the Panthers extremely well prepared as a whole compared to 10 days ago -- they give Atlanta everything. The play-calling was creative. The Panthers figured out a way to pressure Ryan (7 sacks). But coaches are judged by wins and losses, as they all know. And the bottom line is that Rivera is now 7-13 in his first 20 games as the Panthers' head man.

Snatch T!me

SEPTEMBER 27 WOD

A. 3 Hang Power Snatch + 1 OHS

- Practiced technique.My snatches are ugly!!! I have developed a bad habit of using my back way too much. I need to focus on using lighter weights (25-30k) and practicing technique.

Crossfit Chick 

B. 10 Min AMRAP
      7 HSPU
      7 T2B

Crossfit Girl Deadlift (245lb)

- 4 rounds and 5 T2B with an ab mat. Getting a lot better at doing HSPU's! I have to focus on tying my T2B's together so that I don't waste time.

5k: Run for the Cure

Today I ran the CIBC Breast Cancer Run for the Cure for the fifth consecutive year. I wasn't expecting to run too quickly today because my legs were pretty damn sore following yesterday's personal training session. We got to the run site pretty early, so I had plenty of time to warm up and stretch. That helped tremendously, so I decided to do my best and try for a decent finish time.

I let the main crowd of runners get going for about 10 minutes, so I wouldn't be stuck in the crowd. The first part of the run is the most challenging as it involves a winding, step hill. For some reason I started out pretty quickly - too quickly - and I was already out of breath by the time I got to the top of the hill. I had to slow right down much sooner than I intended, and I thought I'd blown my chance of having at least one decent 5k this year. When I'd got my breath back, I sped up a bit and set a pace that I thought I could maintain consistently. It actually felt so comfortable I wondered if I was running too slowly. Because of the heavy overnight rain, I opted for the road course as it was less likely to b slippery.

I got to the halfway/turn around point and felt like I was in control. (By the way, I didn't check my watch until I crossed the finish line.) I was surprised when I saw the 4k marker because I thought I had much more than only 1k remaining. At that point, I really opened up. For the last section of the run, I went as fast as I could. My strides were really long and my arms were pumping like a friggin' lunatic. God knows what I must have looked like. That hill that felt so tough on the way up proved a different type of challenge going back down. I almost felt like I was going to end up somersaulting down the road as I pounded the asphalt.

I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch, finally checking it to see how I did: 25:47. That's nearly a minute faster than last year, and much quicker than I expected at the start of the day. My memory being as poor as it is, I can't recall what my best time was from previous years, but I'm really pleased with how I ran today, especially after the punishment my legs took yesterday morning. Of course, I'm not looking forward to trying to get out of bed tomorrow...

Full body

I come from a culture that abhors firearms,
but fucking hell...

R-band bench press (blue)
75 x 8, 85 x 8, 95 x 8, 105 x 5

Romanian trap bar deadlift
150 x 8, 170 x 8, 190 x 8, 6

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Glute ham raise
10 (eventually!), 6, 6, 5

Wide pull ups
8, 9, 8, 7

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Amrap 12
Hang power clean and push press @ 75lb
Every time the bar is racked, do 10 burpees
Score = 42 clean and press

Whacked myself in the mouth during the push presses, and now my gums are bleeding. Stupid sports injury #168...

Squat til you drop

SEPTEMBER 26 WOD

A. Back Squat 5-5-5

- 75x5...80x4...failed 4th rep!!! I'm still happy with my squat since my PR for one was 90k on August 20.

Crossfit Girl Libby DiBiase

B. 3 Rounds  For Time
     Run 400M
     50 Squat
     35 KBS 1.5/1p
     20 Box Jumps 24/20

Crossfit Girl Libby DiBiase

- 21:21min. This wod was so exhausting and long! This was the first time my stomach was cramping up so much during a wod that I had to sit down during the box jumps. K..maybe not the first time but the most RECENT time during a wod. lol Great workout but I felt really slow. I took a lot of breaks during the KBS and wasted a lot of time doing that. OH WELL! Gotta get stronger and work on staying consistent. My goal for the KBS was to divide them as 15-15-5 but after the 1st round I was doing 10-10-10-5...slowed me down!!! It's all in my head..I'm going to be exhausted no matter what so I just have to stick to my goals... PHEWF...I'm tired just thinking about it ;)

Conditioning

Picture of me - with one-year-old Madi - taken in July 2005. Man boobs!
Compare this to a couple of days ago...

Short of time today - again - so I made up a quick routine that I could do in Stonecroft's gym.

In 20 minutes:
Buy-in - Row 1km

Amrap in remaining time:
10 x sit ups
10 x burpees
10 x air squats (a2g)

Score = 7 rounds + 10 sit ups and 9 burpees

Abbie Burrows

TRANSFORMATION PIC: ABBIE BURROWS

IFBB PRO ABBIE BURROWS
Boobs can be bought but a booty is made

I don’t know much about bodybuilding but Burrows stands out for me. Some people may say “ Fake tan. Fake boobs” but I say “Real ass. Real abs”. She looks great and even though she’s not a crossfitter, her physique is motivating and smoking!

ABBIE BURROWS

ABBIE BURROWS

Legs

Lindsay Valenzuela. Dayum, strong girls are hot!

Haven't done this in a while.

Complex - 1 squat clean, 2 front squats (a2g)
95, 105, 115, 125, 130, 135, 140 (F), 140

The last time I did this routine was nearly 11 months ago, when I got up to 130lb but failed at 135lb. Even though I didn't video this, I could tell my form wasn't great for the squat cleans at the heavier weights; my elbows were too low. However, that's difficult to correct midway through the motion, so when I got to the top of the squat clean, I shrugged to correct the position of the bar, which allowed me to improve my grip, then did the front squats with better form. The failed attempt at 140lb was due to my lack of concentration more than anything else, which meant I couldn't power the bar up to my chest and I dropped the bar on the way up. I rested 2 minutes, collected my thoughts, then tried again. Not great, but at least that's a 10lb PR compared to last year.

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Trap bar deadlifts, touch and go
170 x 10
220 x 8
250 x 6
270 x 6
290 x 3

My grip failed during the attempt at a fourth rep at 290lb. Other than that, I was doing okay.

Heavy Weights=Small Waist

Crossfitting for 6 months now and I am getting stronger everyday! Here are a few stats to brag about my improvement :P

MARCH 22 BACK SQUAT=80K

MARCH 22 DEADLIFT=85K

MAY 17 500M ROW= 2:15MIN

APRIL 28 "GRACE"(35K)= 7.22MIN

CURRENT PR'S

BACK SQUAT= 90K

DEADLIFT= 125K

500M ROW=2:02MIN

"GRACE" (35K)= 4:10MIN

Lifting heavy weights and still looking feminine and strong (sort of). I have noticed so much improvement in my lifts and wods when I eat clean. Less chocolate and more meat will make me stronger, faster, bitchier, oops I mean healthier:) 

Grace WOD

September 25 WOD

A. Gymnastics

-I worked on pistols and pull ups. I am doing much better with my left leg when it comes to pistols since I've finally learnt to "bounce off my ankle" with the left leg. Practice is paying off! I can do 8-10 pull ups in a  row now but my form isn't the greatest.

Crossfit Girl- Cool Socks 

B. "Grace"
     30 Clean and Jerk FOR TIME

Crossfit Romance

- My time was 4:10 with a 35k bar. I beat my old time back in May which was 4:25 but I am still not happy with this wod!!! I need to get stronger this is frustrating. 4 months later and I only shaved 15 seconds off my last time. All I can do is work harder and stop complaining but damn it!!!!!! OK,I'll stop. 

Burpees!!! :/

September 24 WOD 

A. Clean + 1 Push Press(Max)

- 47k. The clean felt easier than the push press. I need to learn to use my legs more and it will become so much easier!

Camille Crossfit Girl

B. How Far Can You Go In 12Min
    1 Burpee, 1 Pull-Up
    2 Burpee, 2 Pull-Up
    3 Burpee, 3 Pull-Up
   etc..

Crossfit Girl- After a great wod

- 10 rounds and 4 pull ups. This was a fun wod since I enjoy pull-ups. Burpees are a drag but it is always a great workout in the end. 

Pulling

Not much time today, so had to keep it short.

Strict pull-ups - 9, 7, 7, 6, 5

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Wide cable rows
100 x 5
110 x 5
120 x 5
130 x 5
140 x 5

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Isabel
30 power snatches @ 85lb
Time = 7:40

September 25, 2012

Pushing

Push press - 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
85, 95, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120 (2)

This felt surprisingly comfortable up to 115lb as I got plenty of power and strength into the press. It got tougher from 115lb to the end, though.

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Bench press - 6 holes, small bench. Max reps @ 120lb.
6, 6, 5, 4, 4

As usual, I lifted the bar to and from the safeties. All of these reps were kind of touch and go; the bar didn't bounce, but as soon as I heard a "clink", I started punching back up.  

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For time:
50 dips
50 push ups, feet elevated on Swiss ball
Time = 15:35

The push-ups were much harder than expected, and I never got more than 5 consecutive reps.

Full body

Personal training with Paul

Alternate sets

Back squats - 115 x 10, 125 x 10, 135 x 10, 145 x 10, 155x 7
Military press - 65 x 10, 10, 8, 7, 7

===

Wide grip pull-ups - 10, 8, 7, 6
Incline dumbbell bench press - 10, 10, 10, 9

======

3 rft:
10 knees to elbows
15 sit-ups
Time = 5:59

NEW DEADLIFT PR 275 POUNDS!

SEPTEMBER 15


Iron Kitty 220lb x 3 Deadlift Video

 Crossfit Girl (new red shorts..my fav:))

Randomly decided to deadlift after watching my boyfriend compete in New Orleans. I started with 220lbs and it felt easy peasy! I went up to 245lbs and started bragging about how I didn't have to warm up my deadlift. I was challenged to do 275lbs and I did it! My back was terribly round but I finished it and I'm happy that I beat my last PR by 5k :)

Legs

Even though I didn't set the world on fire today, it still hurt like hell.

Superset - front squats/back squats, breaking parallel
115 - 3 & 3
135 - 3 & 3
145 - 3 & 3
155 - 3 & 3
165 - 1 (regular grip)
165 - 2 (crossover grip)

Just couldn't get my act together today. I started off going a2g, but couldn't maintain the depth when the weight started increasing. By 155lb, I was still breaking well below parallel, though. During the first front squat at 165lb, using the proper grip, I felt like I was losing hold of the bar, so I racked it. After resting for a minute, I tried again with a crossover grip, but my balance was off and I started to fall forward coming back up from the third rep. I had to drop the bar on the safeties. I didn't video this, so I can't assess where it started to go wrong.

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Deadlifts (deficit)
140 x 10
185 x 5
210 x 5
230 x 5
255 x 4
270 x 2

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Superset
Leg extension - 3 x 12 @ 95
Traveling lunges - 3 x 6 per leg @ 35s, 40s, 40s

Pulling

It's a bloody girl!

Today I felt a bit blah due to lack of sleep. As a consequence, I wasn't expecting too much from this morning's session, but I think I did surprisingly well.

Power cleans, t&g
95 x 3
115 x 3
125 x 3
130 x 3
135 x 2
135 x 3
140 x 2
145 x 1 (PR)

I had planned on only adding weight if I'd completed 3 reps in the previous set, which probably would have meant stopping after 140lb. However, I just felt like going for my max at 145lb, and I'm glad I did. My elbows were up nice and high, but on some of the heavier reps my legs were a bit wobbly before I straightened up. Not very elegant, but I got the weight up to my chest cleanly.

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Cable rows:
120 x 5
130 x 5
140 x 5
150 x 5
160 x 5

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21-15-9 rft
Power snatches @ 75lb
Neutral grip pull-ups (strict)
Time = 14:55

Did better than I expected today, so I'm pretty pleased overall.

Pushing

Not a bad start to the week.

Military press - 5, 5, 3, 3, 2
65, 75, 80, 85, 90 (1)

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Dumbbell bench press - 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
42s, 47s, 50s, 55s, 60s (3)

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21-15-9 rft
Push press @ 85lb (from the floor)
Dips
Time = 10:45

I did this a few weeks ago with Paul. Today's time is a significant PR by 1:20. The key was the timing and length of my rest breaks. The dips were the toughest, but my push presses were nice and controlled. The first round broke down into 10, 6, 5; the second was 6, 5, 4; and the third was 4, 3, 2. Limiting myself to only three sets per round meant only three cleans to get the bar up.

Full body

Personal training with Paul

Today's session felt a lot tougher than it should have. Because my training has lacked focus this week, I walked to the gym just so I had a chance to relax my mind and not feel rushed, which can sometimes happen when I cycle. Rather than use my bike as a mode of transport, I often try to ride as quickly as possible, which, of course, can be counterproductive. 

Sumo deadlifts from deficit
185 x 5
225 x 5
245 x 5
265 x 3
265 x 2

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20-15-10-5 rft
Dumbbell thrusters @ 35s
Pull-ups
Between each round and at the end, do 20 box jumps @ 20"
Time = 21:07

Man, I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest. I was breathing so hard during this routine and was one of those rare occasions when I seriously wanted to quit. Perhaps yesterday's impromptu conditioning workout took more out of me than I thought. Still, I was disappointed in myself because I felt like I lacked mental discipline and strength today.

Conditioning

My workouts this week have been a bit half-assed, so I wanted to throw in a quick conditioning routine in the Stonecroft gym on what would usually be a rest day. Well, it was supposed to be quick...

4 rft:
40 strokes on the rowing machine @ 10 resistance
40 hand-release push ups
40 skips
40 sit ups
Time = 28:14

I don't know if this is particularly slow, but I expected my time to be quicker.

Upper body

I am soooo tired this morning. Who would have thought that moving a few streets away would screw my daily routine? I woke up early today, showered, then cycled to McDonald's for coffee and oatmeal. After I was suitably caffeinated, I cycled to the gym and did a short workout.

Bench press - small bench, 6 holes
105 x 2
115 x 2
125 x 2
135 x 2
140 x 2
145 x 1

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Power clean and press
85lb x 3
95lb x 3
105lb x 1
115lb x 0
115lb x 1

After the bench presses - which were okay, but nothing special - I felt like I had no energy left. I've got to sort myself out quickly and get my training back on track.

Legs

After yesterday's 25lb dumbbell workout, I was eager to do some heavy lifting today. That being said, my daily schedule is all over the place this week while I adjust to living further outside town, and I felt a bit groggy when I got to the gym after getting up earlier than usual.

Front squats (a2g with pause) 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
95, 115, 125, 135, 145, 155, 165, 175 (1)

I think 175lb equals my heaviest a2g front squat, so while it isn't an advance, there was some cause for celebration. All of the sets except the last one used a conventional grip. I could feel my wrists stretching a bit at 165lb, so I switched to a crossover grip for 175lb. That's a significant improvement in wrist flexibility from a few months ago. It certainly feels like both wrists are back to 100%.

What certainly helped with both grip techniques was getting my head way back with my chin up high. That made it easier to keep my elbows up.

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Deadlifts:
175 x 6
195 x 4
225 x 1
255 x 1
275 x 1
295 x 1
310 x 1
325 x 0
325 x 0

My 1RM is 320lb, so I had two attempts at beating that, but failed both times.

On balance, not a bad day.

Eat Fat, Get Lean

Iron Kitty Blogger

Fat is the answer. Carbs is the enemy. Damn it! I knew there was a catch!!!! I love baked goods...CAKES, TREATS AND CHOCOLATE! It is really tough to stop eating chocolate but the results in training is worth it. DO NOT GET ME WRONG. I'd be a liar if I said I didn't eat chocolate. I do, just not as much :). One step at a time. For a long time I thought that fat was bad but turns out it's only bad when its accompanied by a bunch of carbs. I have been trying to cut carbs for the past few months while increasing the amount of fats I eat (bacon+avocado mainly). I shift between 123-125 lbs and I am stronger than I have ever been. My goal isn't to lose weight. I want to remain the same weight but gain more muscle and strength. People are afraid to eat fat (I still am lol) but it really makes a difference in your diet once you cut carbs! You feel full longer and you have more energy. My boyfriend is always right. lol He has repeated this to me ("fat is good") for as long as I could remember! Next time you're afraid to get fat from eating fat...look at the results of a fat-eating, crossfitting kitty! 

Iron Kitty

Cleans and Push Press!

SEPTEMBER 11 WOD

A. HSPU / Pistols

Crossfit Chick

- I am finally getting good at pistols:) For the past few days, I could only bounce off my right ankle when doings pistols but today, I did that with the left leg! Oohhh it is so exciting and I can't wait to practice them more so I never "unlearn" it lol Sounds nerdy but I've been practicing pistols for months and I have been working hard to get better at them.

B. Eight rounds for max reps of:
     Hang power clean, 20 seconds 50/35kg
     Rest 10 seconds
     Push press, 20 seconds 50/35kg
     Rest 10 seconds

     Rest 1 Min 
     Run 400 M

     Rest 1 Min
     Run 400 M

Crossfit Socks :)

- 86 reps with 30k and 4:20min for the run including the 1 min rest. I am pretty disappointed with my score for the first round since my weight wasn't THAT heavy. I need to work on using my legs more for the push press and cleans so I don't waste so much energy. I am getting better at running which is a little accomplishment:) My time for running 400m used to be over 2 minutes. It is now between 1:40- 1:45ish. Disappointed the first round but made up for it in the second round:)