I wonder if they actually mean that ineligible A players can block beyond the neutral zone when A touches the pass but that ineligible A players cannot catch the pass as this would be OPI?
That's exactly what they mean. There wouldn't be any PI restrictions to speak about if we weren't beyond the NZ, since that's the only place they can take place. So big ole lumbering A79 sees the ball tipped in the air by A32, then sees B21 getting ready to snag the pick, so he blocks him from the front above the waist, away from the ball, and it falls harmlessly incomplete. The A coach breathes a sigh of relief. All legal. If lumbering A79 were to touch the pass in an attempt to catch it or tip it away from B21, that's OPI.
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