It is better for a team to do one thing and do it very well, rather then try to do fifty things all poorly. FIRST is often a game of compromises. You must make tradeoffs when you design the robot.
Some teams choose to hang and they did. While most of the teams that I saw at VCU played defense before they hung, after seeing some of the crazy robot designs posted here (The shimmy, anyone?) I think some teams would like to get to the bar before it becomes unavailable
It is not a cheap strategy by any means and as to them receving awards, think about it this way: They set out to build a robot that hangs. It hangs well. Mission accomplished. Let the accolades rain down.