A Loss Now Would Be a Cardinal Sin : Raiders: After last week’s big victory over Denver, Art Shell’s club can’t afford a letdown against struggling Phoenix at the Coliseum.

As valleys follow peaks, and lean years follow fat, so do the Phoenix Cardinals follow the Denver Broncos on the Raider schedule.

Where last week there was a 10-2 division rival and a 90,000-ticket sale, there is now a 5-8 going-nowhere bunch whose last appearance here--as a St. Louis team--in 1983, a month before the Raiders’ Super Bowl XVIII victory, resulted in 11,758 no-shows and a crowd of 32,111, their smallest in Los Angeles.

The Raiders are 8 1/2-point favorites today at the Coliseum, so what else is there to hold your attention?

One thing: They absolutely have to win this game.

A victory today and another next Sunday night in Seattle, where they’ll probably be slight favorites, would make the Raiders hard to catch in the wild-card race. A loss in either game would mean big trouble.

Thus the Raiders went all week trying not to even think the L-word.

Why won’t they succumb to human nature, rejoice in their comeback against the Broncos and suffer the dread letdown against the Cardinals?

“Because we did it before, when they were in St. Louis,” defensive end Greg Townsend said.

“They came in here in ’83. I think we were beating ‘em, 23-0, in the first half (24-7, actually), and they came back and beat us, (34-24).”

If they need any more reasons, the Raiders might note that they’re not quite a dominating team yet.

Since Bo Jackson’s succession of injuries began his string of 64-yards-or-fewer games three weeks ago, they’ve had to fight for their lives.

It’s more than Bo, too. Try the rushing defense. Art Shell said the Broncos ran the ball on a lot of second-and-longs, but the Raiders have allowed their last five opponents totals of 156, 30, 170, 136 and 145 yards on the ground--too high for domination by at least one-third.

“We’re not that good right now to the point where we can say we’re going to take it easy,” Shell said.

It’s something recent Raider teams haven’t always realized. Woe betide them if they haven’t yet learned the lessons of their own history.

Some changes have been made . . .

Since Dec. 11, 1983, when the Cardinals upended the silver and black, they’ve changed cities, coaches (twice) and quarterbacks (weekly).

One constant remains: the managerial muddle that emanates from owner Bill Bidwill.

By raising ticket prices to heights never before explored, he has turned Phoenix, the nation’s hottest expansion territory, ice cold. The Cardinals are averaging 41,303 fans a game, or 57% of capacity. As lame ducks, they played to 47% of capacity during their last season in St. Louis.

Whatever promise they showed on the field is, likewise, history.

Last season, when they still featured a vintage Cardinal explosive offense, they started 7-4, tying for first in the NFC East, but finished 0-5 when quarterback Neil Lomax went down. Lomax never made it back from his arthritic hip, and this season the Cardinals have suffered a withering run of injuries--league-leading receiver J.T. Smith; their best runner, Stump Mitchell, and Pro Bowl tackle Luis Sharpe, an ex-Bruin. Nineteen starters have missed games. Against Dallas four weeks ago, Phoenix ran out of healthy tackles and played a line of four defensive ends.

Nevertheless, they were 5-5 and managing to stay competitive under their popular coach, Gene Stallings, who was then . . . fired?

You bet your community outrage.

Bidwill, a local target, was said to be upset at Stallings’ popularity. Thus it didn’t come as a total surprise when General Manager Larry Wilson gave an interview in which he called Stallings “a self-promoter.”

Stallings was, indeed, very nice to the press and quite candid both on and off the record, but he thought he deserved better. On the Ram trip three weeks ago, he confronted Wilson in their Anaheim hotel, and the two engaged in a shouting match.

After the Rams pulverized the Cardinals, 37-14, Stallings announced that he wouldn’t seek an extension of his contract--in effect, resigning.

Bidwill then fired him, replacing him with running backs coach Hank Kuhlmann, a career assistant.

Kuhlmann, a folksy man with your basic coach’s country twang--he’s from the suburbs of St. Louis, but then Jerry Glanville is from Detroit and Al Davis is from Brooklyn--is 0-2, having lost home games to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Washington Redskins.

Two weeks ago, the Cardinals drew 33,297. The stadium was filled with banners protesting Stallings’ firing and asking Buddy Ryan to offer a bounty on Bidwill. Two DJ’s tried to bring inflatable dolls in the shape of people, to protest the inflated prices, but were turned away.

“It hasn’t been easy,” Kuhlmann said from Phoenix, “but nothing in life is easy. Don’t be surprised if you don’t see us win Sunday.”

Don’t be surprised if you don’t see Hank back as the coach next season, either. The Cardinals are considering successors--Duke Coach Steve Spurrier, Ram assistant Fritz Shurmur, Fresno State Coach Jim Sweeney, Minnesota Viking assistant Floyd Peters and Redskin assistant Joe Bugel.

Whoever it is better come early and bring his lunch.

Raider Notes

Fans are asked to bring a new unwrapped toy for the Toys for Tots program. Barrels will be placed for collection around the Coliseum. . . . Marcus Allen is supposed to see his first action since an Oct. 9 knee injury. His contract is up after this season, and there has been speculation that he wants out and that owner Al Davis would like to trade him. This might be his Raider farewell to the Coliseum. . . . A correction: Vann McElroy stayed on injured reserve for six weeks and thus doesn’t necessarily have to be activated this season. However, McElroy’s hamstring has healed, he’s practicing again and he says he was told to be ready to play today.

Phoenix quarterback Gary Hogeboom suffered a dislocated index finger on his right hand last week but is listed as probable. If he can’t go, Tom Tupa will play, with rookie No. 1 draft pick Timm Rosenbach expected to get some work. Cardinal quarterbacks have combined for 13 touchdown passes and 27 interceptions. . . . Phoenix is No. 7 in rushing, No. l8 in passing, No. 21 against the rush and No. 21 against the pass. . . . Cardinal strong safety Tim McDonald, an ex-Trojan, has emerged as a Pro Bowl candidate in his third season. He has seven interceptions and last week made 15 tackles against the Redskins.

Here’s the quote that is thought to have been responsible for firing up Bo Jackson, by Bronco linebacker Michael Brooks: “In college, most of the times you put a good lick on him, he came out. He’s not gonna play with no injury. I think if you put some good licks on him, he’ll give it up. He’ll come out of the game. I don’t think he likes to be hit.” . . . Licked or not, Jackson didn’t ask out and later lashed out at the Broncos, saying he’d been glad to help “shut their . . . mouths.”

Ex-Raider Bob Buczkowski, the 1986 No. 1 draft choice who barely suited up for them, is now a Cardinal. “He’s done fine,” Coach Hank Kuhlmann said. “He’s been inactive the last two weeks, as we’ve started to get some people back. But he’s a fine person.” . . . Raider playoff picture in a nutshell: If they go 3-0, they’re in. If they win their next two and Houston wins its two remaining home games, someone--Cincinnati, Miami or Kansas City--would have to go 3-0 to eliminate the Raiders.