Cobra from Son of Sn' B

[Trashcat]

I am wondering if anyone has started knitting this sweater since I'm about to start one for my dad.

[Trashcat]

So....I have almost finished my first sweater and so far so good.  This is a fairly straight forward pattern but I have come one part that the instructions seem "wonky"
The instructions for the neck shaping tell you to BO 3 stitches, 3 times, then 2 stitches once.  It says you'll be left with 39 stitches.  This makes sense since you start with 50 stitches at this point (50-11=39), but why not just say bind off 11 stitches.  This is my first knit of this type, so I am wondering if I am missing something really important as to why the instructions are written this way.  If anyone knows why they write patterns this way, please let me know.....I would really hate to make a mistake at this point.  Thanks, and I'll be sure to post a picture of the finished product as soon as it's done.