Giants, on Their Turf, Will Try to Slow the Saints" Fast-Paced Offense EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Facing the New Orleans Saints has rarely been a rewarding experience for Tom Coughlin. Since becoming the Giants" coach in 2004, Coughlin has lost three of the four matchups by a combined 127-58, including a 49-24 thrashing last season. Two of those games, however, were on the fast artificial turf of the Superdome, a fact that did not escape Coughlin or the Saints" interim coach, Joe Vitt, on Wednesday. In discussing Sunday's game at MetLife Stadium, Vitt, who is running the team while Sean Payton serves a yearlong suspension for his involvement in the team's bounty scandal, referred colorfully to how the Giants were probably hoping the Saints" high-paced offense would be affected by playing on the road. "They're looking forward to getting us to drink their water," Vitt said. Coughlin was more direct. "It will be nice to get them in our place," he said, ostensibly for reasons other than the controversial amount of fluoride in New Jersey's water. As difficult as this season has been for the Saints - they are 5-7 and on the very outskirts of the N.F.C. playoff picture - most of their offensive weapons are still in place. Drew Brees threw five interceptions in a brutal loss to Atlanta last week but is still a premier passer. The Saints have scored 321 points (the same total as the Giants), and Brees has completed 61 percent of his passes while throwing for 31 touchdowns, nearly twice as many as Eli Manning's 16. The slick turf in New Orleans is surely part of that, as the notorious carpet and the raucous crowd that suddenly goes silent when the Saints are on offense can make it difficult for opposing teams to keep up with the relentless pace of Brees and his offense. A sequence in last season's game was emblematic for the Giants: after scoring a touchdown to take a 14-3 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the first half, the Saints forced a quick punt from the Giants and took over again on their 12-yard line with 69 seconds remaining. Many teams would have taken a knee, happy enough to be ahead at halftime. Instead, Brees tossed a pass to Marques Colston, who ran for a 50-yard completion, and Lance Moore caught a touchdown pass five plays later as the Saints went 88 yards in 34 seconds. They're fast. There's no doubt about it," linebacker Mark Herzlich said. It's something you can't ignore. You have to be aware of how good they are at making big plays. Playing at MetLife Stadium, where weather and wind are always factors, should be a natural brake for the Saints. Herzlich also said the crowd was an important component since a team that runs a no-huddle offense as the Saints sometimes do can rely on being able to communicate at the line of scrimmage. At home, where Saints fans are hushed as their team comes to the line, those sorts of on-the-fly adjustments are easy. On Sunday, Herzlich said, it should be more difficult. "We hope our fans make it harder, obviously, maybe make them have to use more hand signals and things like that," he said. I think that could certainly slow them down a bit. Of course, several Giants players said the best way to slow down an offense like New Orleans's was to pressure the quarterback. Vitt complimented the Giants" defensive line, praising its long run of success, but this season has been erratic for the unit. The Giants" pass rushers have had their moments - they were dominant in the victory over Green Bay two weeks ago, pummeling Aaron Rodgers all game - but have not been nearly as consistent as they would like, with Monday's loss to Robert Griffin III and the Redskins serving as the latest example. Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who had 16 ½ sacks last season but has recorded just 6 ½ through 12 games this year, said he believed the Giants would find it "easier" to face Brees this weekend as opposed to the shifty Griffin. He added that he agreed with safety Antrel Rolle, who said in a radio interview that the Giants needed to be nastier. "I think we're a little soft," he said. As a defense, we have to make a statement.