It used to be that when the ball was spotted away from the middle of the field, most Hokie defenders were assigned to specifically line up on either the wide side of the field (“field”) or on the narrow side (“boundary.”) What an offense can do when bunched up in the boundary is different from what it can do in the open space of the field, and a good defense can take advantage of this. Since most snaps take place away from the middle of the football field, it’s a sound strategy for the defense to embrace. Another bonus is that, unlike formation strength, an offense can’t change ball placement before the snap, so it’s harder for the offense to manipulate the defense.