After the Super Bowl comes to a close and the entire NFL shifts into offseason mode, there will likely be a comprehensive schedule released for everything that is set to take place from February to September. In the meantime, I have compiled a list of dates that are worth marking on your calendar for the 2012 offseason, and you can check it out after the jump.

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As training camp starts to wind down and the end of the preseason nears, there will be a lot going on in the NFL. Rosters are set to drastically shrink in the coming weeks, and before you know it the regular season will be here.

For Detroit Lions fans, these are the key dates over the next two weeks to mark down on your calendar:

Saturday, Aug. 27: The Lions will take on the New England Patriots at 8 p.m. on CBS. Starters are expected to get extended playing time in what will be considered a dress rehearsal for the regular season.

Tuesday, Aug. 30: Teams are required to be down to 80 players on their roster by 4 p.m. (ET). Usually the first round of roster cuts requires teams to have a maximum of only 75 players, but the NFL made it 80 this year since there are currently 90 players on rosters.

Thursday, Sept. 1: The Lions will kick off their preseason finale at the Buffalo Bills at 6:30 p.m. (ET). Starters will play either very little or not at all since this game is more for the backups fighting to make a spot on the team.

Saturday, Sept. 3: The final round of NFL roster cuts will commence. Teams have to get down to 53 players on this day, so expect to start hearing about cuts as early as Friday, Sept. 2. Cuts will really start to leak out on Sept. 3 and will be made official by the Lions in a press release sent out that night.

Once all of this activity dies down and is in the rear-view mirror, all sights will be set on Sunday, Sept. 11, the day when the Lions kick off the 2011 regular season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The NFL announced its 2011 preseason schedule months ago, but only opponents were included in the announcement. Today, the league released all of the specific dates and start times for the preseason games, including the Detroit Lions' four matchups. Here they are:

It's important to note that if you're in the blackout zone, you may not get to watch the two home games at the times listed above. Even in the preseason, games are blacked out unless they are sellouts. Since preseason sellouts are rare, it's likely the home games will be broadcast on tape-delay. Why this rule hasn't been changed for at least the preseason puzzles me, but that's unfortunately just the way it is.

UPDATE: The Detroit Lions' full 2011 schedule has been released.

Because it's never too early to look ahead, below is a quick peak at the Lions' 2011 schedule. The exact dates and times won't be released until April (assuming a CBA is in place by then and there is actually a need for a schedule), but right now we know which teams are on the Lions' 2011 schedule.

Home Games

Green Bay Packers
Chicago Bears
Minnesota Vikings
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
San Francisco 49ers
Kansas City Chiefs
San Diego Chargers

Away Games

Green Bay Packers
Chicago Bears
Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos
Oakland Raiders

On top of playing the other three NFC North teams, the Lions also play the entire NFC South and AFC West. Detroit plays the Cowboys and 49ers as well. Both of those teams finished in third place in their divisions (the NFC East and NFC West), which is why they will play the Lions next season.

If you're not in the area or are simply unable to watch the Lions' preseason games live, you will be able to catch them on NFL Network. All 65 of the NFL's preseason games will be shown on NFL Network in HD at some point, and one of the Lions' games will actually be shown live. The other three will be replayed the day after the game, which still isn't bad.

Here is the full schedule of when the Lions' preseason games will be on NFL Network:

Sunday, Aug. 15 - 10 a.m. - Detroit Lions @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Sunday, Aug. 22 - 1 p.m. - Detroit Lions @ Denver Broncos

Saturday, Aug. 28 - 5 p.m. - Cleveland Browns @ Detroit Lions (LIVE, although it will probably be blacked out locally)

Friday, Sept. 3 - 12 p.m. - Buffalo Bills @ Detroit Lions

All times are Eastern.

The NFL sent out a press release to officially announce all of the dates and times for the preseason schedule.  I'm not exactly sure why since the dates and times for the Lions' preseason schedule have been set since April, but here they are again in case you missed it:

You can check out the full NFL schedule for the 2010 season here.  Below is what the Lions' entire 2010 schedule looks like with time and TV details included.

The Detroit News managed to get an early look at the Lions' 2010 schedule, and they went ahead and shared it so we don't have to wait until the official announcement at 7 p.m.  There are no times or TV details just yet (those will be out in the official announcement), but here is a look at who the Lions play and when:

September 12 - at Chicago Bears
September 19 - vs. Philadelphia Eagles
September 26 - at Minnesota Vikings
October 3 - at Green Bay Packers
October 10 - vs. St. Louis Rams
October 17 - at New York Giants
October 24 - BYE
October 31 - vs. Washington Redskins
November 7 - vs. New York Jets
November 14 - at Buffalo Bills
November 21 - at Dallas Cowboys
November 25 - vs. New England Patriots
December 5 - vs. Chicago Bears
December 12 - vs. Green Bay Packers
December 19 - at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
December 26 - at Miami Dolphins
January 2 - vs. Minnesota Vikings

The first thing I noticed about this schedule is that the Lions play all of their road divisional games in basically the first month of the season and then play all of their home divisional games in the last month or so of the season.  The fact that the Lions have to go on the road to all of their NFC North rivals so early in the season is part of what makes the beginning so tough.  On top of that, the Lions' only home game in the first four weeks is against Philadelphia, a team that could either come out firing or still readjusting to Kevin Kolb starting at quarterback.

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