Analysts

With a 10-5 record and the AFC North title in tow, the Ravens are currently the No. 4 seed in the AFC postseason. A win against the Cincinnati Bengals and a New England Patriots loss to the Miami Dolphins Sunday, and the Ravens would leapfrog the Patriots for the No. 3 seed. The difference in seeding could mean a divisional playoff game on either Jan. 5 or Jan. 6 against either the No. 5 seed Indianapolis Colts (10-5) or the No. 6 seed Bengals (9-6). No Ravens player or coach will say which team he'd rather face, but NFL Network analyst Jamie Dukes said if he was a member of the Ravens, he would prefer Indianapolis over Cincinnati.

At the beginning of the season, NFL Network analyst Jamie Dukes predicted that the Ravens and San Francisco 49ers would meet in Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans in February. While his selection of the 49ers - currently 9-3-1 and the No. 2 seed in the NFC - looks strong, the 9-4 Ravens have dropped two winnable games, fired offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, and may be forced to play the 10-3 Denver Broncos this Sunday without their two top three inside linebackers and the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year in outside linebacker Terrell Suggs.

The Pittsburgh Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger was listed as limited in Wednesday's practice, which was interpreted as a boost in the arm for the Steelers who have dropped two straight games without their franchise quarterback. But a report in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review described Roethlisberger's workout as very brief, his light throwing ending even before some of his teammates reached the practice field. Does this mean that Pittsburgh will err on the side of caution and shelve Roethlisberger for at least another week to give his dislocated ribs and sprained right throwing shoulder more time to heal?

What makes the University of Maryland's move to the Big Ten look like such a winner is the school's participation in the Big Ten Network, one of collegiate sports' most successful and savvy TV operations, with its audience of 80 million homes. At least, that's what economists and TV executives were saying Monday as the school announced its 2014 departure from the Atlantic Coast Conference, which it had helped charter in 1953. "TV didn't matter in 1953," said media economist Douglas Gomery, a professor emeritus of journalism at College Park.

Quint Kessenich equates the move to a college football power leaving the SEC. "I don't see any positive for the lacrosse program," the ESPN analyst says of the University of Maryland's jump to the Big Ten Conference. "You're talking about the potential of severing rivalries with North Carolina, Duke, Virginia. " In leaving the ACC for the Big Ten, Maryland's football and basketball teams will trade one set of big-time opponents for another. But the picture is murkier in lacrosse, perhaps the university's third signature sport.

As the Ravens spent their week preparing for another vital showdown against the arch-rival Pittsburgh Steelers, the words and images from Owings Mills could have come from any recent season. There was linebacker Terrell Suggs, showing off his tattooed arms in defiance of the 40-degree chill as he mused over the infinite "alley fight" between Ravens and Steelers. There was running back Ray Rice, speaking through his gentle grin of how it's time to don "big boy pants" for the tough games ahead.

College basketball CSN hires former Terps coach Williams as analyst Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic announced that former Maryland men's basketball coach Gary Williams has joined the network as an analyst. Williams will regularly provide analysis, features and special segments for the network's news and entertainment programs, including "Geico SportsNet Central" and "SportsTalk Live. " He will also contribute to CSNwashington.com and CSNbaltimore.com. Before retiring in 2011, Williams spent 33 years as a college head coach, including 22 at Maryland, which he led to the 2002 NCAA title.

KeyW Holding Corp., a Hanover-based technology and cybersecurity firm that contracts with U.S. intelligence agencies, reported a profit increase in the third quarter that matched Wall Street analysts' expectations. The company, which delayed its earning release this week because the Nasdaq market was closed due to Superstorm Sandy, reported a $341,000 profit, or one cent per diluted share, for the quarter ending Sept. 30. Wall Street analysts had expected a one cent-per-share profit.

Cybersecurity industry analysts expect the market to grow more than 50 percent in the next four years even as other types of defense spending are expected to flatten or decline, creating new opportunities for workers and businesses in Maryland. The analysts presented their findings last week at the CyberMaryland conference in Baltimore. Information security professionals have to wade through an overwhelming amount of digital data every day to monitor for cyber threats — an increasingly cumbersome workload that will create new opportunities for federal contractors and workers, said John Slye, a federal industry research analyst with GovWin, a market intelligence and software company.

The loss of inside linebacker Ray Lewis to a torn right triceps suffered in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 31-29 win against the Dallas Cowboys saps the Ravens of their leading tackler and emotional sparkplug. But according to a pair of NFL Network analysts, the defense should fare fine even without the 13-time Pro Bowler. Speaking on “Thursday Night Kickoff,” former St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk pointed out that the unit hasn't been exactly suffocating through the first six games of the season and that was with Lewis in the starting lineup.