Playbooks
Deep Divide is a vertical shot play out of Shotgun Wide 5wr designed to split the safeties with two deep routes running away from each other while underneath routes occupy the linebackers. It functions as a man beater against single-high coverage, giving your outside receivers a chance to win on go routes or deep posts while a shorter drag or spot route serves as the checkdown against zone drops. The primary read progression starts with the deep routes on the outside working from the safety's alignment, then works down to the underneath crosser if the deep shots are covered.
Look for single high safety alignment pre-snap, this tells you Cover 1 or Cover 3 is likely, both of which are vulnerable to the deep divide routes stretching the field horizontally. Watch cornerback press alignment on the outside receivers, if they are playing off coverage they are more susceptible to getting beat over the top on the go route. Post-snap, key the safety's break, if he bites on the underneath crosser or drag route, the deep route he vacated becomes the clear throw. User-controlled defenders sitting in a deep third or playing lurk over the middle can shut this down if they read the quarterback's eyes early, so look off the safety before committing to a deep throw. Cover 2 shells with two deep safeties can squeeze the divide concept since both deep routes run into help, making the underneath option your best answer against this shell. Watch for disguised zone blitzes where a linebacker drops into a deep zone post-snap, this can turn a man beater situation into a zone look that eliminates your first read.
Check the safety alignment pre-snap, if you see one high safety shaded to a side, target the deep route on the opposite hash where the divide creates the most separation.
Use motion or a hot route on the underneath receiver to create a natural rub against man coverage if you suspect Cover 1 or Cover 0.
This play hits best on second and long or third and long situations where the defense is more likely to play zone shells like Cover 3 or Cover 4, since the divide concept stresses the deep thirds.
Pair Deep Divide with Four Verticals or Double Post earlier in a series so defenders start jumping shorter routes, then hit Deep Divide to attack the void left over the top.
If the defense shows heavy blitz pre-snap, hot route your check-release back into a quick out to hold the extra rusher and buy time for the deep shots to develop.
Avoid calling this on short yardage downs since it takes time to develop and the underneath option is not built to convert on its own quickly.