After being talked up as an All Australian last season only to narrowly miss out on selection, Jacobs has been talked about for all the wrong reasons in 2013.
His drop in form has coincided with that of his side, which has slipped from finishing a kick from a Grand Final last year to what is looming as a bottom-eight finish this season.
While well down on his superb 2012 performances, Jacobs was solid against St Kilda in round eight, exceptional against Fremantle in round 10 with 50 hit-outs, and outgunned by Richmond's Ivan Maric at the weekend.
"Take away the (round nine) Kangaroos game, I think I've been building pretty good form for the best part of probably six to eight weeks now," he said.
"[I'm] definitely improving, but still not at the standard I want to be.
"I've got pretty high expectations of my own game and I'm probably one of those blokes who still needs to find that consistency through a game and just keep doing everything right."
Jacobs said he had become a victim of those lofty expectations early in the year, trying to achieve too much, too quickly.
The best advice he received was to "just simplify things".
"Coming off a good year I probably tried to grow my game too much and was worrying about other things … I went away from the things I need to do and that's ruck well," he said.
"Early on in the year obviously things weren't going as well as I would have liked so now it's just to get back and worry about my core business and that's making sure I'm giving the boys first supply with the ruck.
"The rest of it comes with it."
Jacobs, 25, said his poor start to the season ultimately would make him a better player.
With just 72 games under his belt, he said learning to work through the troughs was an important part of his football education.
Adelaide has the bye this weekend and despite the club sitting in 11th place at the halfway mark of the season, Jacobs said it was still in the hunt for a finals berth.
The Crows wouldn't ever say die, he said, although he conceded it would be tough to close a two-game gap with eighth if West Coast or Port Adelaide wins this weekend.
Harry Thring is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry.
