There’s a lot to be thankful for in Niners Nation

On a day when we all reflect on the many blessings in our lives, I’m not going to mention the tens of millions of dollars in salary that sits on injured reserve right now. Or the the way the league stuck it to us by not rescheduling the Packers game like they did for Ravens Steelers. Or the seven players on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Nope, I’m not going to mention those things at all. Instead, let’s continue spending the day focusing on all the good things we have going for us right now. In that vein, I offer today’s Thanksgiving episode of the Gold Standard Podcast.

Levin Black and I decided to put a little more good into this world by looking at the things in 49ers land that we’re grateful for - and there are many. The biggest one for me is a front office that finally seems to all be pulling in the same direction. There’s no infighting between the head coach and the owner. There’s no cold shoulders between the head coach and the general manager. And there’s no uncomfortable exchanges between the head coach and the media. The complete focus of the entire organization from the top on down is on improving the team on the field every Sunday. That isn’t a small thing, and it’s not something that every NFL team can lay claim to having.

Instead of fighting each other, the front office is pouring their time and energy into scouting potential draft picks for next season, and possibly calling the other teams around the league to lay the groundwork for a blockbuster trade later in the offseason. It has happened before, which is another thing to be thankful for. John Lynch and company are not afraid to swing for home runs, even if they do swing and miss along the way. As Michael Scott Wayne Gretzky once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

While the list goes on beyond the front office, you get the point by now. So if you’d like some positive thoughts about the 49ers on this great holiday, take a listen to today’s podcast and appreciate all the good things right now about the scarlet and gold.