Mystery offense will feature play-makers

NEW ORLEANS - Vague might be the best word to describe the approach the Vikings have taken when asked about the type of offense they will run under new coordinator Bill Musgrave.

On the January day he was hired, Musgrave described his system as a blend of different ideas and concepts. Musgrave presumably has spent much of his time since holed up at Winter Park putting together a scheme that is only expected to use some concepts from the West Coast offense and have some marked differences to what former coach Brad Childress employed for five seasons.

While coach Leslie Frazier would like to keep opponents guessing about what changes they will see when the NFL lockout ends, there is one legitimate reason why he is unable to get into more detail. Frazier and Musgrave don't know who their quarterback will be and a good part of how their offense will operate will be based on who's running it.

That point alone should make Vikings fans extremely happy.

As Frazier spoke this week at the NFL owners meetings, it was clear Musgrave's approach will be far less rigid than Childress'. Under Childress, the new quarterback would have been expected to learn a system already in place. Frazier and Musgrave appear willing to adjust their ideas to fit the strengths of whoever is under center.

"We can have great plans, but we want to know who the guy is and make sure that we're working to his strengths," Frazier said. "We have some ideas of what we want it to look like, but until you get him under center and get him to work through the system, so you can start saying, 'OK, we thought this was going to be good for him, but maybe not. Let's take that out, let's put this in' -- until you find out who that's going to be, it's just information right now."

One thing about the new system is certain: Play- makers will be emphasized. Frazier stressed making sure "we're featuring our key guys and making sure that the right people are getting the football in the right situations."

Frazier referred to running back Adrian Peterson, wide receivers Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice (if he doesn't leave as a free agent) and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe as the Vikings' "highlight group." Peterson is the guy whom the offense is expected to revolve around, but Frazier knows the presence of the Pro Bowl running back opens up opportunities for others on the perimeter.

This includes Harvin, who caught a total of 15 receptions in the Vikings' final two games of 2010.

"I still think there are more things that can be done with Percy," Frazier said. "We did some things toward the end of the year where we definitely tried to isolate him, and that's one of the reasons I pulled him off kickoff [returns] at times. I wanted to feature him more than we were."

A hint about what the new offense will look like might be found in tapes of Atlanta's offense. Musgrave was the Falcons' quarterbacks coach for the past five seasons. Balance was the word Frazier used to describe it.

The goal is for that balance to score more than 281 points, the Vikings' total from last season that was fourth from last in the NFL.