The 49ers are traveling up to Seattle today to get ready for Saturday's game against the Seahawks. While Marshawn Lynch is a big challenge for the 49ers defense, the 49ers offense will be tested by the crowd noise at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks stadium (formerly known as Qwest Field) has been listed as one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL. It is my understanding that when the stadium was designed, it was built in a manner that would help keep the noise inside the stadium, even though it is not a dome.
The Seahawks fans are referred to as the 12th Man and they do some good work making a whole ton of noise. I went to the season opener last year and I can definitely attest to the intensity of the noise. It will be a significant challenge for a 49ers offensive line that has its ups and downs when it comes to false start penalties.
Anthony Davis gets a lot of crap for his penalties, but he has improved to some degree in that regard. Nonetheless, he and the rest of the line will have to bring their A game on Saturday. One of the drawbacks to more of a ball control offense is that losing five yards here and there for false start penalties has an even bigger impact. Any offense will hate losing five yards, but the key to this offense is getting into 2nd and manageable and/or 3rd and short. False starts make that all the more difficult.
The team has played in loud stadiums, but something about Seattle seems to bring out even more noise. The 49ers and Seahawks have what could be qualified as a fairly solid rivalry, particularly between the fans. The noise at CenturyLink Field will arguably be as tough a challenge as anything tomorrow.