Peyton Hillis of the Browns, who last season became the first white running back to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season since Craig James in 1985, will face Michael Vick, the first No. 1 pick to go to prison for running a dog-fighting ring, in a vote-off to become the face of Madden 12 from EA Sports.
Voting runs between now and April 25 on ESPN’s SportsNation. Hillis beat Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers 61 percent to 39 percent in third-round voting, while Vick beat Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson 59 percent to 41 percent. Every NFL team (except the Seahawks) had one player representative in the field of 32. Instead of a player, Seattle put forth its 12th man, i.e., the fans, who thought so much of the honor that they lost in the first round of voting to San Francisco linebacker Patrick Willis.