Salave’a expected to play Sunday

Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said yesterday he expects injured defensive tackle Joe Salave’a to play against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at FedEx Field.

Salave’a, suffering from a strained calf, said “they darn near” had to strap him down to prevent him from playing in the Redskins’ 31-15 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday.

However, Salave’a wasn’t quite as optimistic as Gibbs about his chances of playing against the Jaguars.

“It was disappointing that I couldn’t play, but I’m glad we won,” said Salave’a, who was hurt Sept. 17 in Dallas and didn’t practice last week. “It’s better today, but we’ll just have to see how it goes this week. Until you hit someone, you really don’t know.”

Cornerback Shawn Springs, who strained his right groin Wednesday in his first day back in pads since abdominal surgery Aug. 15, doesn’t expect to play. Gibbs said the key factor will be whether the cornerback is on the field when the Redskins practice again tomorrow.

“I’m just rehabbing it and trying to get back,” said Springs, who originally was expected to miss four to six weeks. “I’m on my sixth week now. It takes time to get back from this one.”

Inspiring words

As practice ended Thursday, veteran guard Randy Thomas gathered his teammates around and delivered one of his usual impassioned speeches.

The Redskins were 0-2 and had shown little life in losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys.

“Randy said stop feeling sorry for yourselves, get out of the fetal position, do something about it. We’ve got to work harder,” said a teammate, who asked to remain anonymous because those talks are supposed to remain private.

The Redskins certainly responded Sunday, dominating the hapless Texans.

Downplaying any part his words played in the victory, Thomas said, “We were going to play hard anyway.”

Brunell in stitches

Quarterback Mark Brunell set a franchise record with an 88.9 completion percentage (24-for-27) against the Texans, breaking the 65-year-old mark set by Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh.

Brunell required a couple of stitches to his left elbow afterward. He was injured when he was blocked during the Texans’ return of a fumble by Rock Cartwright.

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