If Texans owner Bob McNair is passionate about anything, it’s building a team of players full of passion.

To that end, McNair revealed to the Houston Chronicle that he wished his team had more players with the drive of second-year LB Brian Cushing.

“One of the things I have learned is that what you have to determine with the players is, beyond their athletic ability, beyond whether they’re of good character or not, what’s their level of passion?” McNair told columnist Richard Justice. “In this game, everybody is so good that just going out and doing what’s required isn’t enough. You have to do more than what’s required.

“Everybody I’ve talked to — strength coaches, assistant coaches, what have you — say Brian Cushing is the hardest-working athlete they’ve ever worked with, that his workouts are so strenuous that no one could compare.”

Of course, there can be too much of a good thing. Cushing’s positive test for performance-enhancing drugs means the Texans will play the first four games of 2010 without one of their best players. Cushing has denied taking PEDs, and McNair is unfazed.

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