49ers-Chiefs: Can you hear me now?

The 49ers currently sit as 2.5 point favorites on the road against a 2-0 Kansas City Chiefs squad. The Chiefs stunned the San Diego Chargers (although they're a notoriously slow starting team under Norv) and then gritted out a tough one at Cleveland. A mix of impressive and not so impressive, but they still at 2-0.

I actually think this game presents an important challenge for the 49ers continued development. After week one, the big uproar concerned the communication issues between OC Jimmy Raye, QB coach Mike Johnson, and QB Alex Smith. The 49ers switched to a number system in which Raye read off simple numbers to Johnson who sent it in to Smith who then got the corresponding play off his wristband. All in all, the system seemed to work fine. There was one bad play with Vernon Davis being late on the field, but for the most part everything seemed to go ok.

Of course, it helps that it was a home game. The 49ers home crowd was nice and loud when the defense was on the field, but as is the case when the offense is on the field at home, they quieted down and communication problems did not seem to arise.

Now, the 49ers head to Arrowhead Stadium. The Seahawks continue to claim Qwest Field is the loudest stadium. And while it might have loudest decibel measurement, the stadium was also specifically designed to keep in the noise and is state of the art. Arrowhead Stadium, even with renovations, is old school enough that it can still bring an intimidating noise factor.

Given the noise element, do folks expect to see a return of false starts and wasted timeouts? Will we see frustration once again on the face of Alex Smith?

I would argue that the challenge posed by the Chiefs and Arrowhead Stadium could arguably be more important than that of the Saints this past week. After all, any team should be able to get up for a home opener on MNF against the defending champs. The 49ers real problems from the Seahawks game could very well have been buried for a week amidst the home atmosphere. I'm not saying that's what happened, but it's something that people have to keep in mind.

And thus, the 49ers will need to show they've truly addressed their road woes from week one.