LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Football teams rarely admit to looking past an opponent, but that's exactly what the Bears are doing as they prepare for Thursday night's preseason finale in Cleveland.

With both eyes focused on the Sept. 10 season opener in Green Bay, Lovie Smith intends to play Bears starters for only a short period of time against the Browns.

Muhsin Muhammad and the rest of the Bears starters will make only a cameo appearance Thursday night in Cleveland. 

"Our plan for the fourth preseason game is to get our guys a few plays," Smith said. "A few can mean a lot of different things. We would like to finish on a high note as much as anything, but the fourth preseason game isn't going to matter in the end.

"It's about Green Bay for us. We won't do anything to jeopardize putting the best possible team on the field against Green Bay."

Smith declined to specify when he would remove the starters.

"We don't have a timetable," he said. "We're going to see how the game goes. We want them to get some good work done. That's about all I can say right now. We'll see how it goes."

While the Bears no doubt will rest players who are dealing with medical issues, defensive tackles Ian Scott and Tank Johnson and guard Terrence Metcalf could see extended action after missing the first three preseason games with injuries.

"Guys who haven't played that are ready to go, we're going to play them to get them ready," Smith said. "That's getting them ready for Green Bay as I see."

Physical presence: Cornerback Dante Wesley conceded that it was difficult to maintain his aggressiveness after drawing three pass interference penalties in Friday night's loss to Arizona.

"It was hard because they kept throwing flags," Wesley said. "Every opportunity I thought I was making plays they were throwing a flag. You've just got to continue working and not give up, not play tentative and continue to play physical."

While Wesley isn't exactly impartial, he felt that all three penalties were unwarranted.

"I don't agree with any of them, to be honest with you," said the five-year veteran. "But I can't really judge that. I just have to go out there and try not to get any more penalties."

With Nathan Vasher sidelined and Ricky Manning Jr. moving from cornerback to nickel back in passing situations, Wesley has benefited from playing cornerback with the No. 1 nickel defense.

"It's helped me," he said. "It's giving me more reps with the defense and allowing me to get a better feel for the defense. I'm just trying to get better and trying to be an asset to the defense."

Aches & pains: Running back Adrian Peterson (hip) and defensive tackle Antonio Garay (ill) returned to practice Monday, but receiver Bernard Berrian (knee), defensive end Israel Idonije (ankle) and defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek (foot) all sat out a second straight day.

Berrian was injured in Friday night's game, but he isn't seriously hurt. "He had an MRI and it looks pretty good," Smith said, "so hopefully in a couple days we'll get him back out there."

Singing in the rain: The Bears practiced outdoors in the rain on a windy Monday in part to try to get accustomed to Chicago's unpredictable and often inclement weather.

"If it isn't lightning, we'll be outside working in the rain," Smith said. "The rain won't ever stop us. It's a perfect scenario to get a day in like today where you get a chance to work on catching the ball when it's wet, carrying the ball when it's wet and all those things."