CINCINNATI -- It's the most awful time of the year as far as Darrin Simmons is concerned.

"I hate this time of year because I see how much guys put into it both physically and mentally," the Cincinnati Bengals special-teams coordinator said Tuesday. "I see the stresses and strains [players] go through. I know this is their livelihood. This is how they are are trying to feed their family."

He also knows that by Saturday, not every player currently on the Bengals' roster will counting on a check from the team to feed their families.

And he knows that he'll be a big reason why.

Welcome to the NFL's version of hell week, the six days of uncertainty and doubt that will decide the immediate futures of some 30 or so men who stepped foot into their respective training camps about a month ago. By the end of Saturday, teams will hit their 53-man roster designations. Physically-unable-to-perform and IR lists will be set. On Tuesday, teams got closer by shrinking their 90-man rosters to 75. It's the most harrowing time of the year for a player.

It isn't very fun for coaches, either. They're the ones who decide the futures of those 30 or so players. For some of those who will be cut, it will be the last time they play football. Others will embark on the next stop of a bumpy football journey. Others still might end up sticking and proving in time that coaches were right to give them a chance (think former undrafted free agent Vontaze Burfict).

"It doesn't get any easier," head coach Marvin Lewis said. "These are always tough conversations. You're just hopeful that we've given them enough opportunity that they get another opportunity somewhere else, or down the line it could be here [again]. I always want to leave that thought on their minds. We've been pretty forthright with the players that we bring in here that we give them an opportunity to play -- even the undrafted college free-agent types -- that we get them out there, we get them on tape so we give them an opportunity."

That's just what many come to training camp wanting: a shot.

Lewis cited an example of how much his staff tries to help the players it knows it will eventually cut. Players like kicker Quinn Sharp, who was signed in the offseason primarily to give the Bengals an extra leg so that they wouldn't wear down starter Mike Nugent's leg during training camp.

"Darrin comes in pleading with me twice last week to let Quinn get some kicks in," Lewis said, referring to getting Sharp in last Sunday's preseason game at Arizona, "and Quinn responded."

Sharp went 2-for-2 on field goals, even nailing a 51-yarder in relief of Nugent late in the game. Because of those opportunities, Sharp probably earned himself a job elsewhere despite getting cut Monday. A team that needs a kicker would be smart to call Sharp's agent.

For as many stories of derailed and ended careers that we'll hear about by the weekend, there will be stories of second chances, too. Those are the ones that can leave coaches feeling that this week isn't so bad.

"You've got to feel good about that," Lewis said, adding to his thought about Sharp. "It's good that we identify the right kind of guys and they take the opportunity and make good on it."

The identification process continues. Four more days to see who will and who won't be spending this stage of their career with the Bengals.