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Do you have a comment or question? Send it to the vikings.com Mailbag! Every Monday during the offseason we’ll post several comments and/or questions as part of the vikings.com Monday Morning Mailbag feature. Although we can’t post every comment or question, we will reply to every question submitted.

To submit a comment or question to the mailbag, send an email to Mike Wobschall at wobschallm@vikings.nfl.net. Remember to include your name and town on the email.

With the success other teams such as the Patriots and 49ers had during these playoffs of throwing to their tight ends, I can’t help but wonder if the Vikings will ever utilize Kyle Rudolph in this way. Do you foresee the Vikings getting Rudolph more involved next year?
-- Jonathan W.
Minneapolis, MN

The Patriots were essentially the gold standard for how to effectively use athletic, field-stretching tight ends this season. They continued that strategy in the playoffs, and as Jonathan noted in his question, several other teams did as well. In fact, tight ends accounted for 29% of all receiving yards and 40% of all receiving touchdowns during the four Divisional Round games. The top performers were New England’s Rob Gronkowski (10 receptions, 145 yards, three touchdowns), San Francisco’s Vernon Davis (7-180-2), New Orleans’ Jimmy Graham (5-103-2) and New England’s Aaron Hernandez (4-55-1); Hernandez was also the Patriots leading rusher with 61 yards on five carries.

This is good news, in my opinion, for Kyle Rudolph. While he wasn’t used as frequently as we all would’ve liked, he is coming off a solid rookie season and I believe he’s in line to see even more action next season. Over the next several months, he’ll have a full complement of offseason workouts, minicamps and Organized Team Activities (OTAs) with quarterback Christian Ponder and Offensive Coordinator Bill Musgrave. This will allow him to become more comfortable with the offensive philosophy and it will allow him to develop an even better rapport with Ponder; it will also allow Musgrave to grow comfortable with Rudolph’s ability to run routes, create separation from defenders and make plays in crucial situations. On top of all that, starting tight end Visanthe Shiancoe is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, and if doesn’t return to the Vikings next season then Rudolph will be relied upon that much more to produce as a pass-catcher.

What is your feeling on the hiring of Alan Williams? With lots of high-profile options out there (Jack Del Rio, Steve Spagnuolo, Gregg Williams), I just don’t see why the Vikings went with an unproven option such as Williams.
-- Marty J.
Hollywood, CA

I understand he’s never been a defensive coordinator before coming to Minnesota, so from that standpoint I guess he is unproven. But also keep in mind that he’s been on an NFL sideline for 11 full seasons, many of which came as a member of Tony Dungy’s coaching staff. He was a part of 10 consecutive playoff teams in Indianapolis, helped the Colts win seven division titles, and coached in two Super Bowls (winning one of them). While with the Colts from 2002-10, Williams coached on defenses that ranked #3 in passing yards allowed and #1 in both fewest passing touchdowns allowed and fewest passes of 25+ yards allowed.

In the fantasy football culture that exists around the NFL, the hiring of a guy that not many people have heard of is often met with not much excitement. But before you write off this hiring as a failure, I think you should give Williams a chance to coach and a chance to succeed. Keep in mind, the Defensive Coordinators in Baltimore, New England and San Francisco are not well-known, but those defenses were all playing in conference championship games this past weekend.

Everyone seems to be concerned with defense, hiring new coordinators and such. What are we going to do about our offense? Do we have any plans to get rid of Offensive Coordinator Bill Musgrave and get someone who is a good playcaller?
-- Jay M.

Head Coach Leslie Frazier has no plans to part ways with Offensive Coordinator Bill Musgrave, and I think that’s the right decision. While Musgrave will be the first to acknowledge that he needs to improve going into next season, I don’t think the offense’s problem in 2011 was playcalling or offensive strategy. There was more of a problem with the execution of plays, penalties and mistakes by players in general. Also keep in mind that changing offensive coordinators this offseason would force Christian Ponder to learn his second brand-new offense in as many years. Keeping Musgrave in the fold will aide in Ponder’s development, while moving to a new coordinator would stunt Ponder’s growth, or at least put it on hold for another year.

A better way to improve the offense is to add better players – specifically along the offensive line and at wide receiver – and focus on perfecting the offense with the players on the roster this offseason during Organized Team Activities (OTAs), minicamps and training camp.