Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!Someone must have just told the that it's the last day of February, because it feels like the league tried to cram as much news as po sible in today before the calendar flips to March. For one, the league revealed the five teams that will be hosting international games this year.For 2022, not only will we have three London games and one game in Mexico City, but there will also be a game in Germany for the first time ever and the Buccaneers will be the home team. If the game is scheduled to be played during Oktoberfest, there is a 100% chance I will be volunteering to cover it, and if I get sent, there's also a 100% chance I will be volunteering to taste every beer at Oktoberfest.Besides the international news, Kyler Murray also made some headlines on Monday by demanding a contract from the Cardinals even though he has two years left on his current contract. I feel like that situation is going to get a little awkward.We'll be covering Murray and the international stuff today, so let's get to the rundown. As always George Mikan Jersey , here's your weekly reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. All you have to do is . Alright, let's get to the rundown. 1. Today's show: Monday Mailbag!During the NFL offseason, we like to spice things up each week on the Pick Six Podcast by adding a listener mailbag every Monday.Our mailbag episodes are pretty simple: We read listener questions during the show and then answer as many of those questions as po sible. Questions can be about literally anything. I mean, I'm pretty sure there was one time where we spent 10 minutes debating the best national restaurant chain and all I'm going to say about that is that I live roughly two miles away from a Chilis and I eat there way more than I probably should. Anyway, if you want to submit Los Angeles Lakers Hats a question, all you have to do is go to Apple Podcasts ( ) and leave a five-star review that includes your question.Here's one question that we answered in today's mailbag:Q: Does defense still win championships? The past two Super Bowls seem to support that, but Kansas City's win was fueled by an offensive resurgence in the fourth quarter. Should teams thus invest more in defenses?A: If I were an NFL general manager -- which will probably be my next career move after I retire from newsletter writing -- I'd try to build a team that isn't overly dependent on either side of the ball. If you build a team that relies completely on its offense and that offense disappears for one game in the playoffs, then you're likely going to lose (The Chiefs' offense in the second half of the AFC title game is exhibit A of that). If you build a team that's completely reliant on its defense and that defense implodes in a game, you're likely going to lose. The best example of this from 2021 is the Buffalo Bills. They had the best defense in the league by nearly every metric, but then that defense got torched by the Chiefs in the divisional round and Buffalo got sent home packing from the playoffs. One stat that has been a good indicator Shaquille O'Neal Jersey of playoff performance is point differential. In eight of the past nine years, the team that has won the Super Bowl has ranked in the top six in point differential in the regular season. To have a high point differential, you usually need an offense that can score and a defense that's not getting lit up every week. I think what I'm trying to say is that defense can help you win championships, but it's unlikely you're going to win one with a team built completely around the defense (like the 1985 Bears), so going that route would be risky in this day and age where nearly every rule favors the offense.When I inevitably get that general managing job, I'll probably invest 58% of my salary cap on offense and 42% on defense. Obviously, that leaves zero percent for special teams, so that's something I'll clearly have to figure out between now and when I get hired.To listen to the rest of the mailbag, . You can and you'll definitely want to do that since it's just me and Will Brinson answering random questions. 2. NFL reveals home teams for 2022 international gamesThe NFL will be playing a total of five international games in 2022 and we already know the home teams in each of those games because the league revealed them on Monday. The five international games will be tied for the most that the NFL has ever played in a single season.Here's a look :Buccaneers headed to Munich. The NFL's first regular-season game ever in Germany will feature the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This will be Tampa Bay's fourth trip to Europe with the three prior games all being played in London.Cardinals headed to Mexico City. Back in 2005, the Cardinals became the first to play a regular-season game outside the United States when they hosted a game in Mexico City, and now, they'll be making their return 17 years later. The Cardinals have been the NFL's unofficial international guinea pigs over the course of their existence. Not only did they play in the first J.R. Smith Jersey regular-season game outside of the U.S., but they also played in the first preseason game outside North America in 1976 (Japan) and the first preseason game ever in Europe in 1983 (London).Packers headed to London (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium). The NFL has been sending teams to London for 14 years and over that time, 31 of the league's 32 teams had made the trip abroad. The only team that still hasn't played in London is the Packers, but that drought will finally be coming to an end.Saints headed to London (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium). For the third time in franchise history, the Saints are headed to England. The Saints have a 2-0 all-time record in London with a win over the Chargers in 2008 and a victory over the Dolphins in 2017. If they moved all their games to London, they'd probably never lose again. I think that's how that works.Jaguars headed to London (Wembley Stadium). No surprise here. The Jaguars are the closest thing the NFL has to a team being based in London. The Jags have gone to London in every season since 2013 and that streak will continue this year.We won't know who each of these teams will be playing until Dwight Howard Jersey the schedule comes out in the spring. One other notable aspect of the international games this year is that 2022 marks the beginning of a rotation that will see every NFL team play at least one international game every eight years. 3. Kyler Murray wants a new contractIf someone you're in a relationship with deletes you from one of their social media accounts, that's usually a sign that maybe things aren't going so well and that appears to be the case with Kyler Murray and the Cardinals. Le s than three weeks ago, Murray deleted every Cardinals-related picture from his Instagram account and it appears we now know why: He wants a new contract. Murr
