They play the Steelers in Heinz Field on Halloween night, but the Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl carriage long ago reverted to one big pumpkin.

		Related coverage Steelers Notebook: Big Ben, Ravens linked forever RAY LEWIS was declared out for Monday's game against the Steelers.

The Ravens who will be here for the Monday night game no longer are the kind of team that strikes fear into any opponent's heart or mind. They began to unravel at the end of last season and they're throwing parts all over the NFL landscape after six games and four losses.

Consider:

Linebacker Ray Lewis, a shell of his former MVP self, All-Pro safety Ed Reed and starting fullback Alan Ricard were declared out for the game yesterday by the Ravens.

Anthony Wright, cast off as the Steelers' third-string quarterback five years ago, starts for ailing Kyle Boller.

Jamal Lewis, who led the NFL with 2,066 yards rushing in 2003, is struggling. He averaged 5.3 yards a carry two years ago. Today, he averages 2.9 yards and has 326 total.

The once invincible Jonathan Ogden at left tackle is more ordinary than All-Pro, which is still good enough for him to be the best of a poor offensive line.

The Ravens have lost eight of their past 12 games, starting with four of their final six last season to drop to 9-7 and out of the playoff hunt. Their victories this season came against the quarterback-starved New York Jets, 13-3, and the talent-starved Cleveland Browns, 16-3. Tennessee, a team the Steelers smacked, 34-7, in the opener, trounced the Ravens, 25-10.

Cornerback Deion Sanders, once the best cover man in the league, never liked to tackle. Now he has lost speed and can't keep up with receivers any more either, yet he still plays in their nickel defense.

Coach Brian Billick reportedly lost the locker room last season and has not regained it, and there's growing speculation that owner Steve Bisciotti, 45, will cut ties with him after the season. Even Billick acknowledged the uncertainty of the job security of his players and himself this week in his diary on the team's Web site.

"The NFL is very much about business when you are a 2-4 team," Billick wrote. "Approximately 25 percent of the players on this team are, in some form or another, free agents at the end of the season. That can create anxiety and doubt in those players' minds as they face the challenges of the remainder of the season. The business side also demands accountability by the Head Coach, and can create a higher level of anxiety on a team about the future of the group they are working with."

And this was the team that was slightly favored over the Steelers to win the AFC North and had some people predicting another Super Bowl for Baltimore?

"They have a bunch of great guys on their team," Steelers receiver Hines Ward said. "That doesn't mean you have the best team because you have the best players. If that's the case then the Yankees are supposed to win all the time. But do they win all the time?"

The Ravens thought they helped themselves by adding two wide receivers, rookie Mark Clayton and Titans free agent Derrick Mason, to go with tight end Todd Heap and a formidable running game with Lewis and backup Chester Taylor. Problem is, the line is weak and the quarterback can't deliver the ball.

They still have a solid defense, ranked No. 2 in the NFL this week, but it has not been able to overcome the offensive shortcomings.

Many of the Steelers talk of the Ravens as if they are the defending Super Bowl champs from five years ago, or say it doesn't matter what their record is because the two teams are such big rivals.

"You can't look at all the numbers, that doesn't tell you anything," Jerome Bettis said. "The records don't tell you anything. They're going to come to play, it's Monday night, the biggest stage of the year. They'll be ready, we can't take it for granted."

Coach Bill Cowher went so far as to say because the Ravens are 2-4, they'll be more difficult to beat.

"The fact that they are 2-4 makes them much more dangerous because this becomes a very, very important game for them ... they can't afford to fall 3 1/2-games back because Cincinnati is the one that we're all chasing. Look at the players on that team, they're used to winning."

Not lately, though.