Is it time for a new kicker?

Good morning, and welcome to the Thursday, December 14 edition of the Saints Insider newsletter. 

The Saints were in a much better mood Wednesday when they returned to work after snapping their three-game losing streak with a win against the Panthers over the weekend.

They won't have much time to celebrate with the New York Giants coming to town on Sunday. The Giants, led by rookie sensation Tommy "Cutlets" DeVito, are one of the hottest teams in the league, having won three consecutive games.

Here's our roster of stories for you today...

Time for a change?

Is it really worth sticking with kicker Blake Grupe? Beat reporter Matt Paras has the answer from Saints head coach Dennis Allen in this week's edition of our "Saints Fans Ask" series.

On the mend

Quarterback Derek Carr said he feels better physically this week than he did going into the Panthers game. And the injury report reflected the improvement. For the first time in a while, Carr wasn't listed.

Carr wasn't the only positive injury news. Two key offensive playmakers returned to the practice field.

New kid on the block

The Saints added a new running back to the roster this week and he made a favorable impression on head coach Dennis Allen during his first practice with the team.

'Ignorance and stupidity'

Cam Jordan's annual charity event for local children was disrupted by a violent argument and gunfire Monday night, the defensive end said on social media. "Reinforcing positivity and having a great time… ignorance and stupidity struck when some argument outside of Politics elevated to extremes and gunshots went off," Jordan said in a social media post.

Possible turning point?

The on-field dust-up between Carr and center Erik McCoy was well documented, but Allen said it might have had a silver lining for his team. "I do think we played better after that," he said on his weekly radio show on WWL-AM 870.

Fact or fiction?

Speaking of, the Carr-McCoy incident was a main discussion subject on Wednesday's edition of the Saints Insider podcast. Our coverage team -- host Zach Ewing and insiders Jeff Duncan, Luke Johnson and Matthew Paras -- weighed in on the situation and whether it's a concern for the team going forward.

That's it for today. We'll have more coverage and analysis throughout the week as the Saints ramp up preparations for Sunday's game against the New York Giants. 

Until next time ... cheers,

Jeff Duncan