With more than two weeks left until free agency, the biggest moves on the Dallas Cowboys' offseason ledger so far are the firing of offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, Kellen Moore's subsequent promotion from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator and Jon Kitna's hiring as the team's new quarterbacks coach.

But Jason Garrett remains the head coach, which means the Cowboys are going to run his offense regardless of who is coaching underneath him.

Therefore, even though both Moore and Kitna will have a large say in the offensive game plan (in Moore's case, he will even reportedly call plays on gameday), any adjustments made to Garrett's offense will likely be slight instead of large, wholesale changes.

Moore and Kitna's fingerprints will be all over the offense, and the more astute observers should be able to identify them once the season begins, though they will all be under the umbrella of Garrett's offensive philosophy.

That's why it's important to be realistic with expectations of the Cowboys' offense after Moore's promotion and the addition of Kitna. Since those moves were made, the more optimistic fans and analysts have dreamed of an offense built similarly to the Los Angeles Rams or Kansas City Chiefs' potent units.

Not to burst anyone's bubble, but that's unlikely to happen.

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Garrett has proven capable of making changes to his offensive philosophy -- see the differences between the Tony Romo-led offenses and the Dak Prescott-led ones -- but it's unlikely those changes will be extensive without a change at quarterback, which isn't happening.

What can happen, though, is Moore and Kitna make slight changes that have a net positive effect on the offense. Whether it be player development or some slight tinkering with how Garrett's offense is presented, Moore and Kitna's small changes can make a noticeable difference in the unit's productivity and efficiency.

Without further ado, let's take a look at a key area where Moore and Kitna can each improve the Cowboys' offense:

Kitna: Improving Prescott's footwork

The biggest thing holding Prescott back from becoming an upper-echelon NFL quarterback is his footwork. Last year, we discussed how Prescott's shoddy footwork sapped his ability to be efficient and productive at times.

Kitna has developed a reputation for his emphasis on improving footwork with his quarterbacks. So much so that Prescott even mentioned Kitna's emphasis on footwork when asked about the new quarterbacks coach (via SportsDay's own David Moore):

"I'm excited for what I can learn, what he can teach me, knowing how serious he takes footwork ...knowing those are going to be a lot of things that will help me become the player I want to be ."

Prescott knows he needs to improve his footwork to take the next step in his developmental process, and that awareness will enable him to fully absorb Kitna's teachings.

One aspect of quarterback footwork that Kitna harps on is getting the QB's "ankle eye," known as the "medial malleolus" of the quarterback's back foot, pointed directly at his intended receiver (see above video for Kitna's full explanation with visual examples). In the video, Kitna states that a quarterback can manipulate his shoulders and eyes given the situation, but the "ankle eye" always must be pointed toward his intended target.

Kitna views this as one of the non-negotiables of quarterback play, meaning that getting the ankle eye pointed toward the intended target is a prerequisite to consistently effective play.

In 2018, Prescott was nowhere near consistent enough with this aspect of footwork, and his effectiveness suffered when he failed to get his ankle eye pointed toward the intended target. Here's a great example:

Another inaccurate throw from Dak. Gets lazy with his footwork and airmails Beasley because of it. pic.twitter.com/2BzHMFEqSD — John Owning (@JohnOwning) October 8, 2018

On this play, Prescott is looking to connect with Cole Beasley, who aligned in the backfield, on a flat route. But instead of setting his feet to make the throw while getting his ankle eye directed at the target, Prescott gets too influenced by the interior pressure and drifts backward, his ankle eye pointed more toward the sideline.

The result is an inaccurate throw that should have been intercepted. Yes, Prescott did have some pressure in his face, but he had ample space to set his feet and make a quick throw, as Texans defenders were 3-4 yards away when Prescott began his release.

Another aspect of footwork that Kitna harps on is the distance between a quarterback's feet during the release. Kitna says he gives his quarterbacks visual cues so they can picture the technique (see video above for full explanation). Kitna doesn't want his quarterback's feet to be at a distance akin with riding a bike (too narrow) or a bull (too wide).

Instead, he wants his quarterback's base to emulate riding a horse because it allows the quarterback to consistently remain balanced while transferring his weight to generate the force necessary to make a throw, improves one's ability to make consistently accurate throws with velocity.

This is another area where Prescott was inconsistent, leading to power drain issues. Here's an example:

Prescott is again looking to connect with Beasley in the flat, but an inaccurate pass eliminates the opportunity for a positive gain on the play.

Note how wide Prescott's base is once he sets up to throw. In Kitna terms, Prescott is "riding a bull" instead of "riding a horse." Prescott's base is so wide he can't even step into the throw, leading to power drain issues, which is why he was a yard short on his throw.

Even though the NFL's practice rules limit a position coach's ability to totally revamp a player's technique, there is still enough time to make progress in key areas.

In Kitna's case, he doesn't have to rework the totality of Prescott's mechanics. Instead, his goal will likely be to improve some of these key areas of Prescott's footwork, which is doable.

It's not like he is going to turn into Drew Brees overnight, but improvement with his footwork will enable Prescott to be accurate more consistently, making the Cowboys' offense more effective and productive in turn.

"Moore" pre-snap motion

Moore has become the boy wonder of the Cowboys' coaching staff. Just two years ago, he was a backup quarterback for the Cowboys. Now, at just 30 years old, he's the offensive coordinator for the most valuable franchise in the NFL.

Even though Moore is the team's offensive coordinator and likely play-caller, he will do both under the auspices of Garrett's offense and philosophy.

Though some are worried about the fact that Moore spent the entirety of his NFL career working under Linehan in some form or fashion, Moore's teams at Boise State had some of the most progressive offenses in college football. Listen to this clip of Moore discussing his college offense with now-Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden to get an idea:

Boise State's offense is actually simple when you get down to the bare bones, but it's often dressed up with a myriad of pre-snap motions and formational diversity to make it appear complex. Says Moore:

"Our whole goal, from an outside perspective, is to make it look as confusing as possible . And, at the end of the day, it's pretty simple for us . You know, it's a lot of the same concepts and it's a lot of doing the same thing."

This is where Moore's fingerprints can enhance Garrett's offense. Instead of making wholesale changes to the core tenets of Garrett's offense -- such as the route combinations, quarterback's progression and protections used upfront -- Moore can alter the way Garrett's offense is presented to the defense.

Last season, the Cowboys' offense was decried as predictable by fans and opposing players alike. They were too static with their formations and too easy for defenders to decode.

One way to make things less predictable for defenders is by dressing plays up with a plethora of pre-snap motions and shifts. This makes things difficult for defenses because they must adjust to the motion on the fly, which often leads to miscommunication.

For example, if a team is in a typical single-back set using 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end and three receivers) and shifts the tight end from the right side of the formation to the left, it changes the offense's "strength" from the right side to the left, invariably changing the responsibilities of defenders on that play.

If one player fails to adhere to the changes in responsibility, the offense's chances of a positive result improve exponentially.

Pre-snap motion is also a great way to "trick" defenders on a given play, as they have a tendency to overplay a motion or shift, opening up big-play opportunities for the offense. Pre-snap motion can force defenses to be less aggressive because they are more focused on getting lined up properly pre-snap rather than reading their keys to play aggressively.

Pre-snap motion also makes life easier on the quarterback, as it makes diagnosing coverages pre-snap simpler. One of the ways to distinguish between man and zone coverage is by using pre-snap motion.

If a receiver motions from one side of the formation to the other and is followed by a particular defensive back, it's likely man coverage. If the receiver motions but is not followed by a defensive back, it's probably zone coverage.

The Cowboys used pre-snap motion at times last season, but it wasn't nearly as frequent as it should have been. If Moore can change the way Garrett's offense is presented, using pre-snap shifts and motions, not only will it make life easier on Prescott, it will make life more difficult on opposing defenses -- exactly the kind of realistic alteration Moore can make to Garrett's offense.

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Twitter: @JohnOwning