Seattle’s crowd noise will make Green Bay QB Aaron Rogers’communication with his line crucial in Monday night’s game. (Getty Images)

Green Bay travels to Seattle for its first road game since Week 15 of last season. The Packers, coming off a victory over the Bears on what was a short week, had 10 days to prepare for the Seahawks.

Here are five things to watch in the Monday Night Football matchup at Seattle:

Crowd noise: Listen, don’t look for this one. The decibel level at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field can be ear-splitting. QB Aaron Rodgers has said it’s one of the loudest stadiums in which he’s played. The Packers no-huddle offense could be impaired if Rodgers’ line-of-scrimmage calls are drowned out by Seahawks fans.

“Those fans are really intelligent; they know when to cheer,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “They get so stinkin’ loud; they do a really good job of giving the defense that advantage when we have to go on some silent counts or when we’re trying to communicate with each other.”

To prepare the expected crown participation, the Packers pumped in some crowd noise in practice. Coach Mike McCarthy said Rodgers’ communication with his offensive line will be crucial, especially for C Jeff Saturday, who was signed in the offseason after 13 years with the Colts.

“You have to start with the offensive line and the quarterback, that’s the biggest stress point in my opinion when you play in loud stadiums,” McCarthy said. “Aaron does a very good job with the cadence in a loud stadium and in our own stadium. So it’s something we put a lot of time into as far as our cadence and not just training one quarterback and one center. There’s a lot of people involved.”

Greg Jennings' role: It will be interesting to see how and how much Jennings is used Monday night. He injured his groin on the final drive of the season opener, missed last week’s game against the Bears and had an up and down week of practice. Despite a couple of setbacks in his rehabilitation, Jennings practiced Friday and Saturday. After the second session, McCarthy said "I thought Greg looked good today. He made a big jump from earlier in the week.”

The Packers have numerous talented pass-catchers, but Jennings stands out for a few reasons. While other receivers have struggled with ball security, Jennings rarely drops passes; his hands and his route-running are dependable. Usually nimble and quick after the catch, the question will be whether Jennings has any rust or stamina issues. He said developing timing with Rodgers will not be an issue.

“[That timing] comes back like riding a bike,” he said. “I’m not concerned about that. It’s just making sure that I’m ready to be out there and when I am out there I can have endurance to stay out there.”

Schemeless in Seattle? So far, the so-called defensive blueprint for stopping the Packers is to play both your safeties back deep and keep their potent offense in front of you. It worked for the Chiefs and Giants last year in the only two games the Packers lost, and it worked for the 49ers’ Cover-2 in Week 1. The arrangement prevents Green Bay from getting behind the defense and dialing up the big plays that made it so dynamic last season.

Seattle usually plays one safety deep, but it may switch to the two-deep shell that has proved effective for other teams. The Seahawks have a defense that McCarthy repeatedly called “young and fast” and their secondary is gigantic. With physically imposing CBs Brandon Browner (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) and Richard Sherman (6-3, 194) jamming receivers at the line, and hard-hitting Kam Chancellor (6-3, 232) with speedy  Earl Thomas (5-10, 202) patrolling the field at safety, it will be a great matchup against the Packers’ talented receiving corps.

Seattle's size on defense and secondary's cover ability, may force Green Bay to dink and dunk underneath, utilizing the elusive playmaking ability of WRs Randall Cobb and Jennings. Another thing to watch for is WR Jordy Nelson, who has a devastatingly effective double move that resulted in many huge plays last season. The Seahawks’ big CBs are susceptible to double moves.

More base? While the Packers have made a point of playing their base 3-4 defense more in 2012, they still use their nickel package more often. that could change against the Seahawks, who love to pound the ball with physical RB Marshawn Lynch on first and second downs to try and set up a manageable third down situation for rookie QB Russell Wilson. Green Bay could be without one of its best run defenders, DE C.J. Wilson, who’s questionable with a groin injury. His loss would hurt the base defense.

Defensive coordinator Dom Capers said this week he’s wary of being overzealous because the Seahawks’ running game can punish the Packers aggressiveness if they don’t pick their spots right. “You’ve got to be careful, because when you’re playing a team that’s [blocking] laterally, and you’re [blitzing], there’s going to be some big seams open in that run game,” Capers said. “And that’s when you see Lynch come out of there for 20, 30 yards.”

The Packers may indeed be cautious about sending a heavy pass rush on early downs, but passing downs could be a big opportunity to pressure Wilson, who has a 53.9 QB rating when blitzed. 

Matthews’ matchup: Despite having played one game less than the rest of the league, OLB Clay Matthews leads the NFL in sacks with six. He’s been unstoppable so far. Against Seattle, he’ll likely face off with LT Russell Okung, who’s been banged up. Okung missed last week’s game and is still a little bothered by a knee injury. If he’s rusty or slow, Matthews will annihilate him.

If the Seahawks send help to Okung’s side, that could open things up for OLBs Nick Perry and Erik Walden. Perry has a sore wrist but is still expected to start. His power could be neutralized by Seahawks’ RT Breno Giacomini, a former Packer who plays with a lot of strength but not much quickness. Walden, who’s shown speed and the ability to get to the QB, could have some success. Perry and Walden will be expected to control the edge and be aware of the mobile Wilson, who likes to roll to his right and throw outside the pocket.

Follow Packers reporter James Carlton on Twitter: @CBSPackers and @jimmycarlton88.