Starting left tackle Ephraim Salaam is also considered the team comedian.
Each Thursday throughout the 2007 season, we will conduct interviews with players and stream them live on Texans TV. This week, we featured starting left tackle Ephraim Salaam, who helped the offensive line block for a team-high 178 rushing yards against Oakland.
The best part about this series of live interviews is that fans can submit their own questions for the player by **clicking here**. Please include your name and where you're from.
Click on the window to the right to view the archived version of the Ephraim Salaam interview. Below is a transcript of the interview.
1) Mark (San Antonio, TX): Do you have any pregame rituals? How do you get pumped up before a game?
Ephraim Salaam: I don't really have pregame rituals, but what I do every week is I come extremely early, about four hours before the game, and I get in the hot tub and relax and maybe listen to some music. But in terms of getting pumped up before the game, I don't do anything special because it's in you. If you can't get pumped up before the game, then you're going to have a long game. I like to be in control when I play, so I like to get myself as agitated as possible.
Brooke Bentley (Texans TV): So what kind of pump up music do you listen to?
Ephraim Salaam: I've got all kinds of stuff in my iPod. There's some Jay-Z, Youngbloodz, Too $hort – I've got all kinds of stuff. I've got a game day compilation that I listen to every week.
2) Fred (Sugarland, TX): What kind of difference defensive tackle does Albert Haynesworth make for the Titans?
Ephraim Salaam: He makes a huge difference because he is a huge man. He's probably the best interior defensive lineman in the league this year. I don't know if that has anything to do with it being his contract year, but he is playing phenomenal right now. And he definitely adds a spark to that defense. He demands a double team, so he takes up two blockers, which allows them to commit other people to stopping the run.
Brooke Bentley (Texans TV): With him in the game the Titans were averaging 99 rushing yards. With him out they've been averaging 160. How are you guys going to reconfigure?
Ephraim Salaam: We don't reconfigure. We just go in with the game plan. It's man up. It's us against them. You just go play.
3) Doug Lacy (Clear Lake, TX): You had a break a while ago in your house in California. What happened there? Did you ever get back the property?
Ephraim Salaam: You never get your property back. You can forget about that. I did the insurance. It happens, man. It sucks. It's just a way of life. I'm glad that no one was there. They just took stuff. I can always replace stuff, even though they took some personal stuff. But I still have my life and my family has their life. I just think it's sad what happened to Sean and my prayers go out to the family.
4) Doug Lacy (Clear Lake, TX): Does the death of Sean Taylor make you reconsider you own personnel security?
Ephraim Salaam: No, because I'm pretty secure myself. I try to stay out of situations and I'm always aware of my surroundings. You never can be too secure, but I have a pretty good grasp on things I like to do and places I like to go. If I'm uncomfortable with something, then I'm not going to do it. I just won't do it. It I'm at a place where something doesn't seem right or I'm not getting the right vibe, I'll leave without any hesitation.
5) Jacqui Barnard (Austin, TX): Where does your name come from?
Ephraim Salaam: My name is a biblical name. Ephraim is in the Bible. I was named after my great, great grand uncle who was a poet and named Ephraim David Tyler. My last name is Salaam, which is Arabic for peace. My great, great grandfather's father's name was Ephraim Peace. We took the family name and I'm Muslim, so the Arabic word for peace is Salaam.
6) Jacqui Barnard (Austin, TX): I hear you want to be a TV or movie producer. Are you working on anything now?
Ephraim Salaam: Yes, we are currently in production on a movie called Chain Letter. My brother is the director. He wrote and directed and I'm producing it with him along with some of our other partners. We own our own movie studio in Northern California with our own sound stage and all of that. So they are in production right now. We just finished a series and movie called Night Tales. We also just finished up a movie called The Hustle. All of those will be out the beginning of next year. I'm constantly working two jobs all the time.
Brooke Bentley (Texans TV): Do you write or star in them?
Ephraim Salaam: I am strictly behind the scenes. I do write. My brother is the genius behind it. He has more time, obviously, to devote to it. But in the offseason, we sit down and throw stuff off the wall. If it sticks and makes sense, we come up with a script and do it. It helps to have your own sound stage and your own money and then studios pick it up. As you make movies, you get to know people and build relationships and ultimately you want to be a big-time movie executive and have a ball. That's my passion. I love movies. I love going to movies and everything about them. When I retire from football and go into making movies, I'll be living two dream lives.
7) Anonymous (Austin, TX): Are you single?
Ephraim Salaam: I'm happily married to a beautiful woman and she's the love of my life. I firmly believe I married the person I'm supposed to marry. We have a fantastic time and we've been married a year and a half, so sorry ladies.
Brooke Bentley (Texans TV): I also hear you are both very good at Halo?
Ephraim Salaam: I happened to marry the one woman who is better at video games than me. It blows my mind, but she is extremely good at Halo and I like that. It's awesome because I like it and she likes it. She doesn't like it because I like it. She was already playing video games before I met her. It's awesome.
Texans Live archive
- Fred Bennett (**Nov. 15, 2007**)
- Adimchinobi Echemandu (**Nov. 1, 2007**)
- Ahman Green (**Oct. 25, 2007**)
- Owen Daniels (**Oct. 18, 2007**)
- Dunta Robinson (**Oct. 11, 2007**)
- DeMeco Ryans (**Oct. 4, 2007**)
- André Davis (**Sept. 27, 2007**)
- Amobi Okoye (**Sept. 20, 2007**)
- Mario Williams (**Sept. 13, 2007**)
- Jacoby Jones (**Sept. 6, 2007**)
