Last week, the folks at EA launched a bracket-style contest for determining the next cover athlete for the game, which will be sold this year even if there is no football.
The voting has now moved to round two, with the 32 candidate cut to 16.
The matchups for the second round are: Aaron Rodgers vs. Sam Bradford; Hakeem Nicks vs. Danny Woodhead; Maurice Jones-Drew vs. Jamaal Charles; Peyton Hillis vs. Matt Ryan; Philip Rivers vs. Adrian Peterson; Mark Sanchez vs. Drew Brees; Mike Vick vs. Andre Johnson; Patrick Willis vs. Hines Ward.
For what it’s worth (and it ain’t worth much), only two upsets occurred in round one. Tenth-seeded Peyton Hillis knocked off seventh-seeded Ray Rice in one of the brackets, and ninth-seeded Adrian Peterson topped Julius Peppers in the other one.
The second round runs through April 3. The quarterfinals commence on April 4, with polls open until April 10. The semifinals span April 11 through 17. And the final two square off on April 18 through 26, with the winner presumably announced on April 27 or April 28, the first day of the draft.