Bearings vs Bearing Blocks

[KeeganP]

Is there an advantage to using bearing blocks instead of just imbedding bearings into the frame of a chassis? If so, what is said advantage?

Historically, our team has just drilled 1.125" diameter holes into the sidewall of our chassis, and then popped the bearings in, and we were done! Worked well, was light, and easy to use. Just had to make sure the holes were in the right place when drilled, but never seemed to be too big of an issue (even for a team with no machining equipment beyond a drill press and a band saw).

I notice a lot of teams with WCD use bearing blocks, and VexPro sells giant blocks to hold bearings -- what's the point? I'm sure there's some big problem that they solve or nobody would use them, so I'm curious.