THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Windows, and the players who open and close them

You fret about Geno Smith. 

I wonder about Deebo Samuel. 

Others are more fixated about THEIR teams – the Packers, the Steelers, the Cowboys, the Raiders, the Broncos, the Saints, even the Lions these days. 

Such is fandom. 

Yes, there is the “local” team, but many are fans of other teams as well. 

FIRST, A thought about Geno. 

You will read elsewhere about the “legacy” of the now-former Seattle quarterback. 

As a 49ers fan, we were thrilled to see ANYBODY besides The Great Russell Wilson play QB for the Seahawks, after TGRW torched us for the better part of a decade. 

It turned out to be Geno Smith. 

But it could have just as well been Geno Bonnalie. 

Or Milli Vanilli. 

Once Geno – Smith, that is – became Seattle’s QB, we started beating the Seahawks. 

That is, until the second meeting of last season, when Geno jogged in through the dumbfounded 49ers defense for a touchdown to complete a come-from-behind victory. 

That was something Geno was known for in Seattle – fourth-quarter comebacks. That’s something we could use a little more of from our current, no longer “irrelevant” QB. 

But the book on Geno was also that, if you defend him long enough, he’ll either throw it to you or fumble it to you – call that the lingering effects of having to play for the Jets. 

And now the Seahawks are said to be interested in another former Jets QB, who last year showed what he was capable of when he wasn’t tarnished by having to play for the Jets. 

DEEBO WAS special. 

Whether he’s still special, as a new member of the Washington Commanders, we’ll find out. 

No one was going to rank him among the great route runners of all time. 

And sometimes he displayed the hands of a defensive back. 

But when he touched the ball with the 49ers, especially in the early years, things happened. 

Whether he caught the ball in traffic on a bubble screen, or was seemingly surrounded on a jet sweep, Deebo often found a way to get away. 

He turned nothing into something like few others. 

And now he’s gone, basically exchanged for a used transmission – or officially, a fifth-round draft pick. 

Deebo said he had nothing but love for his former coach and general manager in San Francisco.  

But still, he wanted to be traded. And he never really said why. 

I love you, but I want out of this relationship. 

OK ... 

Reminds me of the time in 1988, when the Dodgers dealt pitcher Bob Welch to what was then called the Oakland Athletics. 

“Bob Welch wore the Dodger Blue with pride,” L.A. manager Tommy Lasorda bellowed to the cameras. “He was like a son to me.” 

Tommy, you just traded your son. 

IT’S ALL about windows – and we’re not talking about the computer operating system. 

Pundits wonder if the 49ers’ “window” is closing, after four NFL title game appearances, and twice making it to the Super Bowl in the last six seasons. 

That’s not a bad “window,” though it pales in comparison to five Super Bowl championships in 14 seasons in the 1980s and early 1990s. 

Using that barometer, simply getting to a Super Bowl or NFC title game is not acceptable. 

Still, when compared to the “local” team ... 

Since the aforementioned TGRW threw that interception to a Patriots cornerback on a 1-yard pick route in the Super Bowl following the 2014 season, the Seahawks have yet to return to even as far as a conference championship game. 

That’s the window the “local” team, under new direction, decided to address. 

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1205, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.