With the 2011 NFL season in the books, it's time to look forward to the 2012 campaign.  Dates for all 16 regular season games and the four preseason games will be released in mid-April but the Jaguars' regular season opponents are set.

The 2012 schedule for the Jaguars features five teams that qualified for the 2011 postseason: Houston, New England, Cincinnati, Detroit and Green Bay.  In addition, the Jaguars will play 11 games against teams that finished .500 or better in 2011.

For the 13th time in franchise history the club will play a participant from the previous Super Bowl as they will host New England in 2012.  The Jaguars have faced six Super Bowl defending champions.

The Jaguars will play 13 of their 16 regular season games on grass.  The only games to be played on artificial turf during the regular season will be at Buffalo, at Minnesota and at Indianapolis.  The Jaguars will visit the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome to battle the Vikings, their only game in a domed stadium in 2012.  The Jaguars have played a game in a domed stadium in 14 of the 17 seasons in team history.   The only seasons the team did not play in a domed stadium were 1997, 2009 and 2010.  Houston and Indianapolis have retractable roofs.

The scheduling formula implemented in 2002 with realignment guarantees that all teams play each other on a regular, rotating basis.  Under the formula, every team plays 16 games as follows: 

• Home and away against its three division opponents (6 games)
• The four teams from another division within its conference on a rotating three-year cycle (4 games).  The Jaguars will face the four teams from the AFC East in 2012.
• The four teams from a division in the other conference on a rotating four-year cycle (4 games).  The Jaguars are scheduled to play four games against the NFC North division.
• Two intraconference games based on the prior year's standings (2 games).  These games match a first-place team against the first-place teams in the two same-conference divisions the team is not scheduled to play that season.  The second-place, third-place, and fourth-place teams in a conference are matched in the same way each year.   In 2012, the Jaguars will host Cincinnati from the AFC North and travel to Oakland from the AFC West. 

  HOME GAMES	2011 RECORD
  Houston Texans*	10-6
  Indianapolis Colts	2-14
  Tennessee Titans	9-7
  New England Patriots*	13-3
  New York Jets	8-8
  Cincinnati Bengals*	9-7
  Chicago Bears	8-8
  Detroit Lions*	10-6

 *Advanced to 2011 postseason

Gearing up for combine and draft

Jaguars general manager Gene Smith and his staff are preparing for the annual NFL scouting combine on Wednesday, February 22 through Tuesday, February 28. 

The Jaguars have the 7th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. The NFL Draft will be a three-day event with the first round on Thursday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET.  Rounds 2-3 are scheduled for Friday, April 27 at 6:30 p.m. ET, and rounds 4-7 will be held on Saturday, April 28 at 10:00 a.m. ET.

The Jaguars currently hold one pick in each of the first seven rounds including the seventh overall selection in the first round.  Additionally, the Jaguars could be granted more picks in Rounds 3-7 as compensatory selections, based on net unrestricted free agency losses in 2011. 

If the Jaguars pick seventh, it will mark the fifth consecutive season the club will have a selection in the top 10. The players in the last 12 drafts selected with the seventh overall pick were LB Aldon Smith (2011, San Francisco), CB Joe Haden (2010, Cleveland), WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (2009, Oakland), DT Sedrick Ellis (2008, New Orleans), RB Adrian Peterson (2007, Minnesota), S Michael Huff (2006, Oakland), WR Troy Williamson (2005, Minnesota), WR Roy Williams (2004, Detroit), QB Byron Leftwich (2003, Jacksonville), OT Bryant McKinnie (2002, Minnesota), DE Andre Carter (2001, San Francisco) and RB Thomas Jones (2000, Arizona).

Looking back at 2011 opponents

The Jaguars played seven games against 2011 playoff teams (Houston twice, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Atlanta) and 11 games against teams that finished .500 or better in 2011. 

The Jaguars had five straight games against 2011 playoff teams to conclude the first half of the season. 

 *Advanced to postseason       #Division champion