Illegal Touching and OPI

[mikesears]

Originally posted by Bob M.

REPLY: However, NF 7-5-9b says that pass interference restrictions end for..."Eligible A players when A touches the pass or last pass if more than one. Ineligible A players may not touch the pass, but can use hands or arms in a legal block to ward off an opponent."

What about that second sentence? Doesn't it imply that restrictions for eligible A players are indeed different than for ineligible A players in this play? Doesn't it say that interference restrictions on ineligible A players are at least "partially" ended when A touches the pass? Comments...

Is this another contraction in the rulebook? It seems (to me at least) that the rulesmakers make it clear that PI restrictions don't end for ineligible B A players until B touches the (last) pass. Then we run into the comment with no case book support that I can find.

If this comment means that A can block behind the neutral zone to keep B from intercepting the pass, there is no need for this comment because the rules already allow this.

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?



[Edited by mikesears on Jul 9th, 2003 at 06:59 AM]