The Blues are 6-7 and two games behind eighth-placed Collingwood, which they face in a crucial encounter at the MCG on Friday night.
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Carlton hasn’t beaten a top eight team this season and the in-form Gibbs says they "definitely" need a big scalp to build belief.
"We've played some good footy without the rewards. Collingwood's the perfect team to do it (against) this week," he said at Visy Park on Tuesday.
"Every week's a big week for us at the moment. (There's) still a lot of footy to be played though, so we're not panicking just yet.
"Collingwood, no matter where they are on the ladder, they’re always going to be very competitive, so we've got to come with our A-game. They’re going to come out firing. Big stage, back on the 'G, they'll be up and about."
Asked whether there was any extra motivation to win for former Magpie coach Mick Malthouse, so he can avoid going 0-2 against his old club, Gibbs said: "It's just business as usual for Mick and us as players."
The Blues could be bolstered by the return of skipper Marc Murphy (cheekbone) and vice-captain Andrew Carrazzo, who played his first game back in the VFL after a long lay-off with a calf injury. Both were "in the mix" according to Gibbs.
Despite Carlton's desperate situation, he said the Blues had improved "immensely" as a team under Malthouse, particularly in their defensive mechanisms, and are "only going to get better".
The same assessment could easily be applied to Gibbs himself.
The past month marks just the second time in his 144-game career – and the first since 2009 – that he has gathered at least 26 touches in four consecutive games, comprising efforts of 28, 26, 28 and 26 during June.
The stats suggest his game has a distinctly harder edge.
For the first time in the 24-year-old's career he has won double-figure tallies of contested possessions in five successive games. That he has done it immediately after returning from a three-week hamstring injury makes the effort even more worthy of note.
This blue-collar approach is also evident in his dramatically improved tackle numbers.
After laying 22 tackles in his first seven games this season, he has applied 25 in his past three outings against top sides Hawthorn (nine), Essendon (eight) and Sydney (eight).
Asked whether he had consciously tried to be a more physical presence around the packs this season, Gibbs said he believed it was more a case of opportunity beckoning.
"Maybe spending a bit more time in the middle of the ground gives me a few more opportunities to lay some more tackles and win some more contested ball, so that could be a bit of a factor why those numbers are up," he said.
"When you play in the midfield here at Carlton you’re expected to do those things.
"I just go out there and try to play my role for the team. I think the coaches have been very happy with my form at the moment."
Gibbs stepped out of the Blues' leadership role at the end of last year to focus on his own game, which fell short of expectations, but says he hasn’t approached his role as an unofficial leader any differently.
"I still feel I'm bringing leadership qualities to the group, and I definitely haven’t become more quiet as a person or taken a step back in my leadership in that sense," he said.
"I wanted to focus on my own footy for a little bit and make sure I was doing everything right as a player, and I think I've started to do that now."
Ben Collins is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_BenCollins
Carlton hasn’t beaten a top eight team this season and the in-form Gibbs says they "definitely" need a big scalp to build belief.
"We've played some good footy without the rewards. Collingwood's the perfect team to do it (against) this week," he said at Visy Park on Tuesday.
"Every week's a big week for us at the moment. (There's) still a lot of footy to be played though, so we're not panicking just yet.
"Collingwood, no matter where they are on the ladder, they’re always going to be very competitive, so we've got to come with our A-game. They’re going to come out firing. Big stage, back on the 'G, they'll be up and about."
Asked whether there was any extra motivation to win for former Magpie coach Mick Malthouse, so he can avoid going 0-2 against his old club, Gibbs said: "It's just business as usual for Mick and us as players."
The Blues could be bolstered by the return of skipper Marc Murphy (cheekbone) and vice-captain Andrew Carrazzo, who played his first game back in the VFL after a long lay-off with a calf injury. Both were "in the mix" according to Gibbs.
Despite Carlton's desperate situation, he said the Blues had improved "immensely" as a team under Malthouse, particularly in their defensive mechanisms, and are "only going to get better".
The same assessment could easily be applied to Gibbs himself.
The past month marks just the second time in his 144-game career – and the first since 2009 – that he has gathered at least 26 touches in four consecutive games, comprising efforts of 28, 26, 28 and 26 during June.
The stats suggest his game has a distinctly harder edge.
For the first time in the 24-year-old's career he has won double-figure tallies of contested possessions in five successive games. That he has done it immediately after returning from a three-week hamstring injury makes the effort even more worthy of note.
This blue-collar approach is also evident in his dramatically improved tackle numbers.
After laying 22 tackles in his first seven games this season, he has applied 25 in his past three outings against top sides Hawthorn (nine), Essendon (eight) and Sydney (eight).
Asked whether he had consciously tried to be a more physical presence around the packs this season, Gibbs said he believed it was more a case of opportunity beckoning.
"Maybe spending a bit more time in the middle of the ground gives me a few more opportunities to lay some more tackles and win some more contested ball, so that could be a bit of a factor why those numbers are up," he said.
"When you play in the midfield here at Carlton you’re expected to do those things.
"I just go out there and try to play my role for the team. I think the coaches have been very happy with my form at the moment."
Gibbs stepped out of the Blues' leadership role at the end of last year to focus on his own game, which fell short of expectations, but says he hasn’t approached his role as an unofficial leader any differently.
"I still feel I'm bringing leadership qualities to the group, and I definitely haven’t become more quiet as a person or taken a step back in my leadership in that sense," he said.
"I wanted to focus on my own footy for a little bit and make sure I was doing everything right as a player, and I think I've started to do that now."
Ben Collins is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_BenCollins
