SI.com's Don Banks tackles three issues from around the league:

1	Which new faces in new places enter the season under the most pressure to produce?

Peerless Price Rick Stewart/Getty Images We'll give you our top five, in no particular order: Atlanta receiver Peerless Price: The Falcons paid handsomely for a guy who has never had to handle the No. 1 receiver role. This season there's no Eric Moulds opposite him to draw away the opponent's best cover corner. Price must lift a sizable chunk of the offensive burden from Michael Vick's shoulders if the Falcons hope to take that next step to playoff perennial. Denver quarterback Jake Plummer: On paper, everything's in place. Plummer is blessed with a running game that will allow him to play-action teams to death, quality receivers who know how to take over a game and coaches in Gary Kubiak and Mike Shanahan who will put him in the position to succeed. Now all he has to do is prove Arizona was really the problem. Detroit cornerback Dre' Bly: He got No. 1 cornerback money from the desperate Lions -- whose pass defense ranked 30th in 2002 -- but as Oakland's Larry Brown proved a few years ago, that doesn't necessarily make you a No. 1 cornerback. The 5-foot-9, 190-pound Bly has good instincts and plays aggressively, but he's going to be vertically challenged by those tall NFC North receivers. San Diego receiver David Boston: Much like Price and Vick in Atlanta, the Chargers felt they had to land Boston in order to diversify on offense and take some of the load off LaDainian Tomlinson's back. But San Diego rolled the dice here because Boston's climb to superstar status took a sharp downward turn last season, thanks to health and maturity issues. What's it going to be, Dave, the Boston of 2001 or 2002? San Francisco head coach Dennis Erickson: Only one winning team changed coaches this offseason and that was those fix-what-ain't-broke 49ers. After four years out of the league, Erickson inherits a team that has won 23 games and been to the playoffs two years running. Rebuilding, they aren't. Forget about those demanding 49ers fans. Erickson needs to win and win now to help owner John York live down that Steve Mariucci firing.

2	Are the defending champion Bucs preparing for Warren Sapp's final season in Tampa Bay?

Warren Sapp Donald Miralle/Getty Images That could be the reality, although it's too early to say if it's the likelihood. Here are the facts: Sapp, who'll turn 31 in December, is entering the final year of a six-year, $36 million contract. He'll make $6.6 million this year. It's extremely rare for an NFL player to get to the point of playing out the last, expensive leg of a six-year contract without first being either released or renegotiated. But strangely enough, that's where the Bucs are with their Pro Bowl defensive tackle. Sapp wants to remain in Tampa Bay, where he has played his entire career, and the Bucs aren't opposed to continuing the marriage either. That said, Tampa Bay isn't about to rush into a huge deal for a player who had a very quiet postseason, has battled weight problems and might be approaching the declining stage of his career. Especially since the Bucs also intend to re-sign defensive tackle Anthony McFarland, who is a younger version of Sapp at a far more economical price tag. What kind of season Sapp has may determine how this story ends, although either way it could remain unresolved until next spring. If Sapp's play slips noticeably, the Bucs are almost certain to let him shop himself in free agency before weighing in with what they consider a hometown discount. If Sapp is again a playmaking force, he'll probably be looking for a break-the-bank type of deal, and that's not likely to entice the Bucs into being early bidders, either. So far there are no indications that either side will make a significant move toward one another at any point in the season's first half. And if you're wondering, Tampa Bay officials aren't inclined to slap the franchise tag on Sapp next spring unless it's a trade-talk maneuver or their last possible option. While it would buy them one more season with Sapp and allow them to avoid giving him a long-term, eight-figure deal, the Bucs believe tying up an unhappy Sapp would not be worth the $7.92 million (which represents 120 percent of his current salary) they would owe him under franchise player rules. Look for McFarland to re-sign fairly soon, largely because both sides want a deal and it's so much easier to arrive at a middle ground in his case. But as for Sapp, a useful history lesson might be the Bucs' approach to former Pro Bowl middle linebacker Hardy Nickerson's contract demands in 1997. He asked for the moon, the Bucs said no thanks and allowed him to determine his value in the open market. Once he had, visiting four teams, he re-signed with Tampa Bay, earning a very competitive contract. The same could be true for Sapp. It might look or sound like he's going, going, gone for most of this year. But don't write anything in stone at this point. One way or another, it'll likely be 2004 before we know.

3	Are reports that Vikings head coach Mike Tice painted his house in Packers colors credible?

Mike Tice Doug Pensinger/Getty Images Well, they are and they aren't. This is one of those cases where reporters have a tendency to not let the facts get in the way of a good story. Even if it takes a touch of whitewashing. The truth is that Tice bought a new home in the Twin Cities last summer, and had it painted in time to throw his now annual preseason party for members of the organization. The colors he and his wife Diane picked out were canary yellow, with dark green shutters. Tice himself mentioned to his family that some might interpret the color scheme as being dangerously close to the green and gold of the Packers, the Vikings' most bitter NFC North rival. Still, the plan somehow received family approval, and a couple of coats of the familiar colors were applied. "Isn't that [screwed] up?" Tice said this week. "Yeah, I do have a Packers house. As my daughter [Adrienne, 15] says, 'It's not really Packers colors,' but they're close. It does make for a good story. But at no point did I say I'm painting my house Packers colors or that I hate the Packers so much and this is going to remind me of it. But that's what the story has turned into." One footnote: Tice needs no reminders of the Packers. His Vikings, who won their final three games last year in impressive fashion -- finishing 6-10 in his rookie season -- open their 2003 schedule at Lambeau Field on Sept. 7. Tice's "home" game against Green Bay isn't until Nov. 2.