The Kilroy household is a microcosm of the football-loving world when it comes to Tim Tebow.

My wife shakes her head and scoffs whenever Tebow’s name is uttered, which these days is about every 1.2 seconds.

She bristles when he is called a quarterback.

“He’s not a quarterback,” she says, loudly. “A quarterback throws the ball. A quarterback knows how to throw the ball. He doesn’t. He’s a running back playing quarterback.”

Those words are true, which is the very reason why I will defend the Denver Bronco “quarterback” to the end.

I’m a Tebow fan because he is different, a breath of fresh air in a stagnant league where the conventional wisdom for decades has held that a quarterback has to be 6-foot-5, have a strong arm and make all the throws.

He is a bucking Bronco — bucking conventional wisdom and winning the “Tebow way.”

That way is running what amounts to a single-wing offense. That way is throwing the ball only when you have to and slamming your 245-pound bull of a “quarterback” at the defense 20-plus times a game.

That way is setting the NFL back 75 years, to the days of leather helmets.

The Broncos should take throwback uniforms to the next level since they are running a throwback offense. Come out in leather helmets. Heck, change the name, too. Call them the Denver Leatherheads.

The Tebow way is unheard of in the NFL.

And that’s what makes it so great.

Watching Tebow play can induce cringes. It can be downright painful sometimes as he cocks his arm and slings the ball, not really sure where it is going half the time.

He is the anti-Dan Marino. Black Friday shopping lines move faster than Tebow’s release.

But he’s getting it done. Somehow. Some way.

The Broncos are 5-1 with Tebow doing his thing.

There is no middle ground with Tebow. He is a polarizing force. You either love him or loathe him.

You’re either Skip Bayless or Merril Hoge.

You can’t sort of like him. You can’t say, “Tebow? He’s OK, I guess.”

The big question now is how long can the Tebow way work?

That is one of the biggest story lines in the NFL this season, one of the most compelling reasons to watch on Sunday (and Thursday, and Saturday and Monday).

How long can the “No Coast offense” work?

How long before we have to redefine his position?

My wife is correct. Tebow is not a quarterback. There needs to be another name for his position.

Loonieback? Or, how about “winnerback.”

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.