"Some pain remains, but so does Joseph Addai's desire to remain an active part of the Indianapolis Colts offense.

The veteran running back is optimistic he'll be in the lineup Sunday night when the Colts meet the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field. Addai is dealing with a neck injury suffered in the third quarter of last Sunday's 19-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

"What's up?" he asked with a smile Wednesday afternoon as reporters converged at his cubicle in the locker room. "I should be all right. I'm feeling a bit better day by day.

"Hopefully, by Sunday I'll be all the way back."

Addai saw limited work Wednesday but did not practice Thursday. General manager Chris Polian said Addai suffered no skeletal damage to his right shoulder when he was slammed to the ground by Chiefs defensive end Glenn Dorsey.

"It's just a little sore," Addai said. "I practiced (Wednesday) and felt good. Sunday's a long time from now, so I should be good."

One area of Sunday's game shapes up as weakness vs. weakness. The Colts running game ranks No. 31 in yards per attempt (3.2), while Washington's run defense is allowing 4.5 per rush, No. 25 in the league.

In their 16-13 overtime win over Green Bay, the Redskins allowed the Packers to run for 157 yards on just 17 attempts.

Addai said the Colts running game is "going in the right direction.

"We're close. We're showing some good flashes.""