Six years stand between the Patriots and their last start better than the current 4-2 record New England carries into leaf-peeping season.

Last season when the Patriots rolled into Nashville to play the Tennessee Titans, their former head coach Mike Vrabel was working as a consultant for the Cleveland Browns, and New England lost 20-17 in overtime.

Vrabel, back in the picture in a big way these days, will stand on the visitor’s sideline Sunday when the AFC-leading Patriots — with a coaching staff and front office with 13 former Tennessee staffers and a roster that includes six former Titans — take on his former employer in Nashville.

“There is going to be, probably, a lot to be said about this,” Vrabel said. “I think it would file under the category of, is it interesting or important? I

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